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Minister's appointment of retired judges to chair arbitration boards was patently unreasonable for ignoring required expertise.
The Minister of Labour appointed retired judges to chair compulsory arbitration boards for hospital and nursing home labour disputes under s. 6(5) of the Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act.
The unions challenged the appointments, arguing the Minister was required to select arbitrators from a mutually agreed roster and that retired judges lacked labour relations expertise and independence.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that while the Minister was not restricted to a specific roster and retired judges as a class were not biased, the Minister's appointments were patently unreasonable because he expressly excluded the relevant criteria of labour relations expertise and broad acceptability within the labour relations community, which were essential to the legislative scheme.
Appeal dismissed; accommodating employees' Sabbath observance on Friday nights would cause undue hardship to employer and union.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission appealed a Board of Inquiry decision dismissing complaints against Ford Motor Company and a union alleging constructive discrimination based on religion.
The complainants, adherents of the Worldwide Church of God, sought to be excused from Friday night shifts to observe the Sabbath.
The Board found that accommodating the complainants would cause undue hardship to Ford due to high absenteeism, quality, and safety concerns, and to the union due to significant interference with the seniority rights of other workers.
The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding the Board's decision reasonable and supported by the evidence.
