P-2013-1586

IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION

Under

THE PUBLIC SERVICE ACT

Before

THE PUBLIC SERVICE GRIEVANCE BOARD

BETWEEN

Bruce Graham

Complainant

• and -

The Crown in Right of Ontario (Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services)

Employer

BEFORE

Donald D. Carter

Vice-Chair

FOR THE COMPLAINANT

Bruce Graham

FOR THE EMPLOYER

Peter Dailleboust Ministry of Government Services Legal Services Branch Counsel

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS

August 20, 2013 August 26, 2013

Decision

1The complainant seeks interim relief in this matter arising from his Form 1 Application and his Form 1a Application. His request for relief seeks to postpone an anticipated job competition process. He argues that he has established an arguable case on the merits and the harm of possible dismissal that he now faces outweighs any possible harm to the employer that would result from the postponement that he requests. In support of his request for relief, he cites the decision of the Ontario Grievance Settlement Board in Ontario Public Service Employees Union v. Ontario (Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services) (Ranger) 2004 CanLII 55367 – a case where that Board found that the medical evidence justified an interim order to direct the employer to place the grievor in a job that accommodated his medical restrictions while the matter was heard on its merits.

In this case, the Grievance Settlement Board used its authority to make an interim order to direct the employer to comply with its obligation under human rights legislation to accommodate a disabled employee.

2The employer’s response to this request takes the position that the complainant does not have an arguable case on the merits but, even if he does, the test of balance of harm favours the employer since the order sought would prevent the planned reorganization of its work force for an extended period of time. Furthermore, interim relief was not necessary in this case since the complainant’s submissions do not establish any significant harm that could not be redressed by the normal remedial powers of the Public Service Grievance Board.

3After considering the submissions in this matter, the Board has decided that the complainant has not made out a case for interim relief. The complainant in his submissions made a number of arguments in support of his complaints but none of them establish that the Board’s remedial powers would be insufficient to fashion an appropriate remedy following a full hearing of the merits of his complaints. The Board has a broad remedial power that includes orders of reinstatement to employment, the awarding of compensatory damages, and other types of orders to remedy any breach of the complainant’s terms of conditions of employment. These powers, in the Board’s view, would provide the complainant with an appropriate remedy if his complaint should succeed.

4This application for interim relief is dismissed.