Poudrier Bradet

Appeal from a labour arbitration ruling concerning dismissals of legislative security guards and claimed parliamentary privilege over employee management and exclusion of strangers.

The majority held the claimed immunity from external labour review was not shown to be necessary to the legislature’s constitutional functions, so the grievances could proceed.

A concurring set of reasons found the governing provincial statute dispositive because the legislature had subjected employee management to that regime absent a derogation.

The dissent would have found privilege established and would have barred arbitral jurisdiction.

This constitutional appeal concerned amendments to a provincial pay equity regime addressing systemic wage discrimination affecting predominantly female job classes.

The court held that provisions delaying and limiting compensation adjustments until periodic audit postings, and restricting retroactive adjustments before posting, infringed equality rights under section 15(1) of the Charter.

The majority found the scheme effectively tolerated periods of uncompensated inequity and was not justified under section 1.

The cross-appeal challenging repeal provisions failed for lack of proof of unconstitutionality.