Ronald Lebi

The applicant union sought judicial review of four Ontario Labour Relations Board decisions that dismissed its application for certification of a construction industry bargaining unit.

The applicant argued the Board unreasonably refused to order a representation vote and lacked discretion to dismiss the application under s. 128.1(13) of the Labour Relations Act, 1995.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the Board reasonably concluded that the applicant did not wish to represent the appropriate province-wide bargaining unit and that determining employee support was impossible due to the passage of time caused by the applicant's litigation strategy.

The Court held the Board reasonably interpreted s. 128.1(13) as conferring discretion to dismiss an unmeritorious application to avoid leaving it in limbo.

The applicant employer sought judicial review of the Ontario Labour Relations Board's decision to certify a union for a bargaining unit of employees at a specific hotel location.

The employer argued the bargaining unit was inappropriate due to employee interchange across multiple locations and that the Board denied procedural fairness by excluding certain casual employees without an oral hearing.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the Board's determination of the bargaining unit and employee status was reasonable and fell within its core expertise.

The Court also found no denial of procedural fairness, as the Board provided ample opportunity for written submissions.

The applicant brought a motion to set aside an order denying its request to file an affidavit as part of its record in an application for judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision.

The applicant argued that the affidavit was necessary to show the Board's findings of fact were unreasonable.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion, finding no error of law by the motion judge, who was bound by established precedent that restricts the admission of new affidavit evidence on judicial review.

The applicant union brought a motion for leave to file an affidavit in support of its application for judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision.

The affidavit sought to challenge numerous factual findings made by the Board, alleging they were unreasonable or made without evidence.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion, applying the strict test that affidavit evidence is only admissible on judicial review in rare and exceptional circumstances to demonstrate a complete absence of evidence on an essential jurisdictional point.

The court found the applicant failed to meet this exacting standard, as the Board had received some evidence on the primary functions in dispute, and the affidavit merely reflected the applicant's counsel's differing notes of the proceedings.

The applicant sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision certifying the respondent union as the bargaining agent for four construction workers.

The applicant challenged the Board's evidentiary ruling that prevented its site superintendent from testifying about his relationship with other on-site workers not subject to the certification application.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the Board's decision to exclude the evidence as irrelevant was reasonable, as the applicant had expressly confirmed it was not challenging the size of the bargaining unit.

The applicant union sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision that allowed an employee to participate in a representation vote on a displacement application.

The applicant argued the employee should have been excluded under the April Waterproofing doctrine because he was not assigned to work by the incumbent union.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding the Board reasonably interpreted 'in the bargaining unit' based on the work being done and reasonably applied its current, more nuanced approach to the April Waterproofing doctrine.

The applicant employer sought a stay of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision certifying the respondent union as the exclusive bargaining agent for a group of its employees, pending judicial review.

The employer argued it would suffer irreparable harm by being forced to choose between pursuing judicial review or complying with its obligation to bargain in good faith, and by expending unrecoverable resources on collective bargaining.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion, finding that the employer could bargain in good faith while reserving its rights pending judicial review, and that mutual, unremarkable process costs do not constitute irreparable harm.

The applicant union sought judicial review of three Ontario Labour Relations Board decisions regarding an application for certification in the construction industry.

The union argued that the bargaining unit should be limited to licensed sheet metal workers and registered apprentices, and that the Board breached procedural fairness by altering the proposed bargaining unit description without submissions.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding no denial of procedural fairness as the union failed to seek reconsideration on that issue.

The Court also held that the Board's decision to include unlicensed workers in the bargaining unit was reasonable, as it appropriately focused on the work performed on the application date rather than licensing status under collateral legislation.

The applicants sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision declaring them to be a single employer bound by a collective agreement and liable for damages.

The applicants argued procedural unfairness and challenged the Board's earlier certification and grievance decisions.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding it to be an improper collateral attack on previous Board decisions.

The Court held that the Board's procedures were fair and its calculation of damages, based on established principles for breaches of union security provisions in the construction industry, was reasonable.

The union and the employers' association failed to reach a new collective agreement for the residential construction sector.

An arbitrator was appointed under the Labour Relations Act, 1995.

The employers' association argued the arbitrator's jurisdiction was limited to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), while the union argued for a province-wide award.

The arbitrator determined he had jurisdiction to make a province-wide award to avoid fracturing the bargaining unit.

The Divisional Court quashed the award for areas outside the GTA.

On appeal, the Court of Appeal held that the standard of review for the arbitrator's jurisdictional decision was reasonableness.

The Court found the arbitrator's decision was reasonable and restored the province-wide award.

The applicant union sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision.

The Board found that the respondent employer breached the collective agreement by subcontracting work to a non-unionized contractor, but denied an award of damages because the union suffered no loss, as only a non-union contractor was capable of performing the specialized work.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, holding that the Board's decision on remedy was owed deference and was not outside the range of reasonable outcomes.

The applicant sought judicial review of Ontario Labour Relations Board decisions certifying the respondent union as the exclusive bargaining agent for its electricians.

The applicant challenged the Board's use of a 'bright line' test to determine the bargaining unit based on employees working on a Saturday filing date, the Board's finding that a union organizer's conduct did not violate s. 76 of the Labour Relations Act, and the wording of the ballot question.

The Divisional Court found the Board's decisions reasonable and dismissed the application for judicial review.

The applicant union sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision dismissing its unfair labour practice complaint and challenges to a representation vote.

The applicant argued the Board breached procedural fairness by making adverse credibility findings without holding an oral hearing.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding that while it is a well-settled principle that adverse credibility findings should not be made without an oral hearing when central to a decision, the credibility findings in this case were irrelevant and easily severable from the determinative issues.

The applicant sought judicial review of an interest arbitration award that imposed a province-wide collective agreement.

The Arbitrator was appointed under the Labour Relations Act to resolve a dispute in the residential construction sector.

The applicant argued the Arbitrator's jurisdiction was statutorily limited to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

The Divisional Court agreed, finding that the legislation expressly restricted the Arbitrator's authority to the GTA and that he could not use a regulation to expand his jurisdiction and interfere with the parties' right to strike or lockout outside the GTA.

The non-GTA portion of the award was quashed.

The Ontario College of Trades moved to set aside an order refusing to quash a summons to witness issued by PowerServe to the Chair of the College's Electrician Ratio Review Panel.

PowerServe sought to examine the Chair regarding his prior professional relationship with a union involved in the review, alleging a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The Divisional Court allowed the motion and quashed the summons, finding that the proposed areas of inquiry were either irrelevant, amounted to a fishing expedition, or would require the disclosure of communications protected by solicitor-client privilege.

In an addendum to a previous decision allowing the appeal and restoring the Ontario Labour Relations Board's decision, the Court of Appeal clarified the timeline for an estoppel period.

Responding to a letter from the respondent's counsel, the court confirmed its intention that the new two-year estoppel period originally set by the OLRB would start again on the date of the court's decision.

The appellant unions appealed a Divisional Court decision that quashed an Ontario Labour Relations Board ruling.

The Board had admitted a photocopy of the 1958 Sarnia Working Agreement into evidence as a business record and ancient document, finding it created province-wide bargaining rights binding the respondent employer.

The Board also found the unions were estopped from enforcing the agreement for two years due to representations made in 2000.

The Divisional Court ruled the document inadmissible and substituted a permanent estoppel.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that the Divisional Court failed to show deference to the Board's evidentiary rulings and remedial discretion, restoring the Board's original decision.

The applicant employer sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision certifying a union as the exclusive bargaining agent for a construction industry bargaining unit.

The core issue was whether two employees performed construction industry work on the application date.

The Divisional Court found the Board's conclusion that disconnecting a pump for off-site repair constituted construction work 'at the site' to be unreasonable.

However, the Court upheld the Board's finding that replacing a thermal sensor constituted repair work, as it was a reasonable, fact-driven conclusion owed deference.

Consequently, the application for judicial review was dismissed.

The applicant sought judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision dismissing his complaint that the union breached its duty of fair representation under s. 74 of the Labour Relations Act.

The applicant alleged procedural unfairness during the consultation process and substantive errors in the Board's assessment of the union's investigation into a contracting-out grievance.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application, finding no breach of natural justice and holding that the Board reasonably concluded the union's actions were not arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith.

EllisDon applied for judicial review of an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision that admitted a photocopy of a 1958 working agreement and found the unions were estopped from enforcing it for only two years.

The Divisional Court held that the OLRB erred in law by admitting the document as a business record or ancient document without assessing its reliability.

Furthermore, the Court found that the OLRB's decision to limit the estoppel to two years was unreasonable, as EllisDon had permanently lost the opportunity to seek a legislative solution.

The Court quashed the OLRB's decision and dismissed the unions' grievances, ruling the estoppel must be permanent.