The applicant School Board sought judicial review of two OLRB decisions that allowed a union to proceed with a construction grievance despite referring it to arbitration four months past the collective agreement's 14-day deadline.
The OLRB vice-chair had ruled the timelines were directory and that the OLRB had broad discretion under s. 133 of the Labour Relations Act to extend them.
The Divisional Court quashed the decisions, holding that the collective agreement's timelines were mandatory and that neither s. 48(16) nor s. 133 of the Act granted the OLRB jurisdiction to extend the time for referring a grievance to arbitration.
