Introductory remarks by Co-Chairs
8:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. |
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Panel 1:
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION SINCE B.C. HEALTH SERVICES: TRACKING THE IMPACT OF THE CHARTER ON LABOUR LAW
9:00 a.m. to 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. Since then, unions have brought a number of challenges to legislation which limits access to collective bargaining and/or restricts the scope of bargaining. In this session, adjudicators and counsel from across Canada will examine the decisions which have resulted, and will highlight upcoming challenges of interest, including challenges to: |
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 Restrictions on the ability of farm workers to bargain collectively: Fraser v. Ontario (Ont. C.A.) |
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Denial of the right to unionize to RCMP members: Mounted Police Assn. v. Canada (Ont. Sup. Ct.) |
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The removal from home childcare workers of employee status: Confederation des Syndicates Nationaux v. Quebec (Que. Sup. Ct.) |
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Limits on pay equity and caps on public sector pay increases enacted by the federal government (Bill C-10) |
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The designation of health care workers as essential in Saskatchewan (Bill 5) |
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BREAK
10:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. |
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Panel 2:
ADJUDICATING AND LITIGATING BEFORE LABOUR BOARDS: MAKING THE HEARING PROCESS MORE EFFECTIVE
10:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
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| SPEAKERS |
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Diane Gee
Alternate Chair
Ontario Labour Relations Board |
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Don Eady
Union Counsel
Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP |
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Lisa Southern
Employer Counsel
Roper Greyell |
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| For years, labour boards have been required to do more with less, as caseloads and jurisdictions expand and budgets diminish. This panel will examine the innovations which have been adopted across Canada to maintain high standards of administration and adjudication in the face of these challenges, and will ask whether workplace parties are satisfied and what can be improved. Issues to be discussed will include: |
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Harmonizing the right to be heard with the need to screen out frivolous applications |
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Accommodating requests for interim relief without prejudging the case |
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Balancing expedition against fairness in deciding procedural and evidentiary issues |
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Reconciling fairness with finality in the reconsideration process |
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Weighing privacy protection for litigating parties against the public’s right to know |
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LUNCH
12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. |
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Panel 3:
UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICES: EXAMINING THE LATEST LABOUR BOARD RESPONSES
1:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
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| The strength of Canada’s collective bargaining legislation has always depended upon the vigorous enforcement of key statutory prohibitions by labour boards, an exercise that faces increasing difficulties as global integration evolves and new forms of corporate restructuring accelerate. Counsel and adjudicators who have grappled with these challenges will review some of the significant cases of the past year, with a particular focus on those likely to have an impact in jurisdictions across Canada. Issues to be discussed will include: |
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Plant and store closures following certification and the scope of Board intervention: Desbiens/Plourde v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp. (S.C.C.) |
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Cross-jurisdictional “chill” – the impact of closures on union organizing drives: UFCW, Local 1400 v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp. (Sask.L.R.B.) |
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Corporate restructuring as an unfair labour practice: PCL Constructors Canada v. Tri-Unions (B.C.L.R.B.); Finning Canada) v. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 99 (Alberta C.A.) |
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Recent cases on employer communications during organizing and bargaining: Riverstone Masonry Inc. (O.L.R.B.) |
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BREAK
2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
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Panel 4:
CHALLENGING SCENARIOS IN LABOUR BOARD HEARINGS: MAKING THE CORRECT CALL
3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
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| Some challenges faced by labour board adjudicators are difficult to resolve, no matter how frequently they arise. In this interactive session, leading counsel will make submissions in a series of disputes drawn from actual cases. After hearing the arguments, and before a discussion of the appropriate approach by senior adjudicators, the audience will be polled for their views on how to handle these tough situations. The scenarios may raise such troubling issues as: |
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How should a panel handle an unrepresented applicant who seems troubled or perhaps mentally ill? |
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What should labour board adjudicators do in the face of delaying tactics or misconduct by counsel in a hearing? |
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Should unions be held to a higher standard of care when a duty of fair representation applicant alleges discrimination, and/or suffers from a disability? |
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What considerations arise when a conflict of interest is alleged on the part of participating lawyers? |
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END OF DAY ONE: 4:15 p.m. |
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DAY TWO
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 |
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Panel 5:
EFFECTS OF THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN: MEETING NEW CHALLENGES
9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
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Canadian workplaces are grappling with the unparalleled effects of the U.S. financial crisis and a global economic downturn. On this panel, labour experts will consider the impact of a struggling manufacturing sector, lower oil prices, high unemployment and calls for public sector restraint on litigation before labour boards. Some of the topics to be explored are: |
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Canvassing the limits on reopening collective agreements |
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Negotiating concessions in light of the duty to bargain in good faith |
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Sale of a business and related employer provisions: union/employer relations on restructuring |
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Handling labour board proceedings involving bankrupt, insolvent or defunct employers |
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Reconfiguring bargaining units in the context of corporate reorganization |
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BREAK
10:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. |
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Panel 6:
MAJOR CASE LAW AND LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS BY RESPECTED COUNSEL
10:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
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| SPEAKERS |
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David Doorey
Assistant Professor
School of Human Resource Management
York University |
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Susan Dawes
Union Counsel
Myers Weinberg LLP |
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Jacques Emond
Employer Counsel
Emond Harnden |
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| A panel of leading labour and management counsel, and labour board adjudicators, discusses the most significant decisions of the year issued by courts and labour boards, as well as recent major legislative changes and proposals. The final 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. |
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CONFERENCE ENDS
12:00 p.m. |
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BORA LASKIN AWARD DINNER
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Top Floor, Sutton Place Hotel Toronto
955 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario
Cocktails – 6:30 p.m.
Dinner – 7:30 p.m.
Michel Picher
is this year's recipient of the
University of Toronto Bora Laskin Award for
Outstanding Contributions to Labour Law in Canada
Tickets and tables can be ordered at 416-977-6618, or via the conference registration page.
Click here for more information about the Bora Laskin Award.
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