Ontario Labour Relations Board
1879-01-R Employees of Trafalgar Lodge, Applicant v. Canadian Health Care Workers, Responding Party v. Mister D. Health Management and Consulting Inc., Intervenor.
BEFORE: Brian McLean, Vice-Chair, and Board Members J. A. Ronson and R. R. Montague.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; October 25, 2001
This is an application under section 66 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the “Act”).
This application was filed with the Board on October 5, 2001. There is a dispute between the parties as to whether the employer was properly served with the application.
The Certificate of Delivery which was filed with the application states that the application was delivered to 17-7000 McLeod Rd., Suite 141, Niagara Falls, Ontario by Purolator on October 4, 2001. By letter dated October 11, 2001 counsel for Mister D. Health Management and Consulting (“Mister D.”), asserted that Mister D. did not receive a copy of the application. Mister D. requested that the Board not process the application or alternatively that the Board deliver a copy of the application to Mister D. and extend the date by which it must file its response from October 22, 2001 to October 29, 2001.
The applicant responded to Mister D.’s request by letter dated October 12, 2001. The applicant provided a copy of Purolator documents which indicated that the documents were delivered to 17-7000 McLeod Rd., Suite 141, Niagara Falls, Ontario on October 5, 2001. C. Blair signed for the Purolator package.
Counsel for Mister D. responded. Counsel indicated that the address to which the documents were delivered is: “not Mister D.’s proper mailing address. The address to which the applicant’s documents were forwarded to was a post office box with a mail box company that Mister D. does not frequently visit, and did not in fact visit until the evening of October 11, 2001. This mail box company expressly prohibited from accepting registered mail or courier packages on Mister D.’s behalf “(sic)”. Counsel also explained that C. Blair appears to be an employee of the mail box company, is not a Mister D. employee and did not have authority to accept delivery of the Purolator package on behalf of Mister D.
Counsel then advised that “Mister D. was unaware of the delivery of the Purolator package until the evening of October 11, 2001 and the package was stale dated, it was immediately returned by Mister D. to the sender on October 11, 2001.
Finally, the applicant responded. The applicant provided a copy of a notice posted for the benefit of all employees which announced the apparent voluntary recognition of the intervenor union. The address listed on that notice was the same as the Purolator package was delivered to: 17-7000 McLeod Road, Suite 141, Niagara Falls, Ontario.
It is apparent to the Board that the applicant delivered its application to Mister D. on October 5, 2001. The applicant cannot be faulted for delivering a package to the mailing address on Mister D.’s letterhead. It is difficult to understand why Mister D. returned the Purolator package on October 11, 2001 when it must have known that the package related to this application.
Rather than continue this dispute which can only frustrate the process, the Board orders the applicant to deliver another copy of the application to counsel for Mister D. Mister D. will reimburse the applicant for the costs of such delivery and Mister D. shall have four working days from the date of such delivery to file its response to the application.
“Brian McLean”
for the Board