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Panel 1:
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: IMPLICATIONS OF THE B.C. HEALTH SERVICES CASE
9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
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In June 2007 the Supreme Court reversed 20 years of its own jurisprudence by ruling in Health Services v. British Columbia that the guarantee of freedom of association in section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the right of Canadian workers to bargain collectively. At the same time, governments across Canada continue to legislate limits on collective bargaining activity, and even in B.C. the implications of the Health Services decision are not yet clear. In this session counsel from across Canada who have been involved in litigating freedom of association issues will review the likely effects of this watershed decision on a myriad of labour relations issues, including: |
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 Contracting out in the health care sector: the status of B.C.’s Health and Social Services Delivery Improvement Act (Bill 29) and settlements reached following the Supreme Court's decision |
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Restructuring in the health care and social services sector, the amalgamation of bargaining units and designation of local and central bargaining issues in Quebec: Confédération des syndicats nationaux v. Québec |
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Limits on the right to strike: proposed legislation imposing mandatory interest arbitration for health care and community services workers in Nova Scotia |
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Limits on the right to strike for construction workers: the challenge to section 189 of Alberta’s Labour Relations Code |
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Restructuring and amalgamation in the education sector: the challenge to B.C.’s Education Services Collective Agreement Act (2002) |
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Break
10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. |
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Panel 2:
THE GROWING RELEVANCE OF INTERNATIONAL LABOUR STANDARDS
IN CANADIAN LABOUR LAW
10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
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Canada is a signatory to various international treaties which relate to labour and employment, including conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), yet little is known of their requirements. That may change after the Supreme Court found in Health Services v. B.C. that “the Charter should be presumed to provide at least as great a level of protection as is found in the international human rights documents that Canada has ratified.” Canadian experts on international labour law predict that this will have a major impact on judicial scrutiny of Canada’s labour laws and that international labour standards may also come to be more frequently invoked before labour boards. A leading Canadian academic will introduce this topic and will be joined by a panel of counsel and adjudicators to discuss the following issues: |
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What international labour standards are significant in understanding Canada’s international labour law obligations? |
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What is the scope of ILO Convention No. 87, which provides that collective bargaining is a fundamental right? |
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ILO decisions upholding complaints against Canadian legislation: how will these complaints be dealt with in light of the Health Services case if they are raised before labour boards and courts under the Charter? |
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Are Canadian courts and boards bound by the interpretations of international labour law agencies? |
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LUNCH
12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. |
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Panel 3:
FOCUS ON KEY ISSUES:
LABOUR EXPERTS DEBATE
1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
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| While many disputes can be resolved by a simple application of the law to the facts, there are recurring debates in labour law on what the law should be. In this new session, leading counsel will face off in a series of debates, with brief structured submissions and a chance to challenge each other directly. The audience will be polled for their views on these tough issues both before and after hearing the debate. Issues may include: |
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Are labour boards powerless in the face of increasing capital mobility and global competitiveness? |
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Are labour boards lagging behind arbitrators and other workplace tribunals in devising creative and effective remedies for unfair labour practices? |
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Should labour board decisions be reconsidered by the original decision-makers or a newly constituted panel? |
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Break
2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. |
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Panel 4:
THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE WORKERS:
THE ROLE OF LABOUR BOARDS
3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
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The changing face of Canadian workplaces, combined with labour market pressures, has led to increasing attention to the problem of vulnerable workers. Many of these workers have traditionally faced difficulties in accessing collective bargaining, due in part to deliberate legislative exclusions, but also to more subtle reasons relating to bargaining unit determination, the definition of ‘employee’ and ‘employer’, and other labour board policies. This panel will examine some of the recent case law which puts this problem into perspective and will discuss how changing Board approaches may play a role in protecting the growing number of workers in this category. Issues to be discussed include: |
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Challenging legislative exclusions and limitations: the continuing battle over agricultural workers in Ontario (the Dunmore and Fraser cases) and Quebec; the extension of statutory protection to domestic workers in Manitoba |
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The treatment of workers on special immigration permits: migrant farm workers (the Mayfair case in Manitoba); construction workers (Seli Canada Inc. in B.C.) |
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The uncertain status of undocumented workers: construction workers and others |
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The growing use of temporary placement agencies: determining the scope of the bargaining unit (the Nike case), and the identity of the employer |
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Access to collective bargaining for part-time and casual workers: extension of bargaining rights to part-time college instructors in Ontario; the challenge to exclusion from collective bargaining of casual workers in New Brunswick; the inclusion of part-time, casual and student workers in all-employee bargaining units |
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END OF DAY ONE
4:15 p.m. |
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BORA LASKIN AWARD DINNER
Top
Floor, Sutton Place Hotel
October 7, 2008
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Cocktails – 6:00 p.m.
Dinner – 7:00 p.m.
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| is this year's recipient of the |
University of Toronto Bora Laskin Award
for Outstanding Contributions to Labour Law in Canada |
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2008 AWARD SELECTION COMMITTEE |
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- Frank Reid, Director, Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto
- Kenneth Swan, President, Ontario Labour-Management Arbitrators' Association
- Justice Sheila Greckol, Alberta Court of Queen's Bench
- Professor Thomas Kuttner, University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law
- Stan Lanyon, Arbitrator/Mediator, B.C.
- Professor Brian Langille, University of Toronto Faculty of Law
- Justice Stephen Goudge, Ontario Court of Appeal
- Justice Louise Otis, Quebec Court of Appeal
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Registration details
For more
information about the Bora Laskin Award, click here |
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DAY TWO
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 |
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Panel 5:
LABOUR BOARD LAW AND POLICY: MEASURING THE IMPACT
9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
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| In recent years Canadian labour academics have undertaken research studies considering the empirical effects of various legislative approaches to collective bargaining, and of labour board policies, which provide significant insights into the real-life implications of labour law and labour board adjudication. On this panel several scholars will present their research, followed by questions, and discussion by a panel of labour board adjudicators and leading counsel. Some of the topics which may be explored are: |
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The impact of delay in holding votes and in certification proceedings on certification success and the incidence of unfair labour practices |
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The impact of expedited unfair labour practice hearings |
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The effects of remedial certification |
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The effects of vote versus card-based certification |
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Break
10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. |
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Panel 6:
MAJOR CASE LAW AND LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
10:45 a.m. –12:00 p.m.
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A panel of leading labour and management counsel, and labour board adjudicators, will discuss the most significant decisions of the year issued by courts and labour boards along with recent legislative changes and proposals. The selection of issues for this perennially popular session takes place a few weeks before the conference, so that up-to-the-minute coverage can be assured, but cases to be discussed will likely include: |
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Contracting out and successorship: Finning International Inc. (Alberta C.A.) |
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Collective bargaining for Aboriginals: Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (Ontario C.A.) (leave denied by S.C.C.) |
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Wal-Mart and allegations of bias: Wal-Mart v. S.L.R.B. (leave denied by S.C.C.); Local 1518 v. B.C.L.R.B. & Wal-Mart (B.C.S.C.) |
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Closure and/or threats to job security: Seli Canada Inc.(B.C.L.R.B.) |
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CONFERENCE ENDS
12:00 p.m. |
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