The appellant municipality sought to replace its full-time firefighters with volunteers and passed a by-law purporting to terminate the collective agreement.
The Court of Appeal upheld the decisions of the arbitrator and Divisional Court, finding that the collective agreement continued in effect beyond its expiry date due to the freeze provision in the Fire Protection and Fire Prevention Act, 1997.
The court held that the municipality could not unilaterally terminate the agreement, as the Act requires the consent of the Ontario Labour Relations Board on joint application, rendering the by-law of no effect.
