St. Anne Nackawic Pulp & Paper v. CPU, [1986] 1 S.C.R. 704 (1986)

St. Anne Nackawic Pulp & Paper v. CPU, [1986] 1 S.C.R. 704

St. Anne Nackawic Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd. Appellant;

and

Canadian Paper Workers Union, Local 219 Respondent.

File No.: 17485.

1984: December 10; 1986: June 12.

Present: Dickson C.J. and Estey, McIntyre, Chouinard, Lamer, Wilson and Le Dain JJ.

on appeal from the court of appeal for new brunswick

Labour relations -- Collective agreement -- Breach -- Strike notwithstanding no strike clause in agreement and in defiance of court injunction -- Action by employer for damages -- Whether court had jurisdiction to entertain action or whether jurisdiction restricted to arbitration board by statutory scheme -- Industrial Relations Act, R.S.N.B. 1973, c. I-4, ss. 53(1), 55(1), 91(1).

Courts -- Jurisdiction -- Labour relations -- Collective agreement -- Breach -- Strike notwithstanding no strike clause in agreement and in defiance of court injunction -- Action by employer for damages -- Whether court had jurisdiction to entertain action or whether jurisdiction restricted to arbitration board by statutory scheme.

Appellant claimed damages from respondent for the losses flowing from the virtual shutdown of its plant when its mill employees walked out in sympathy with a legal strike by its office employees, notwithstanding the fact that the mill unit was bound by a collective agreement banning strikes and lock-outs. The claim was based on the fact that the walkout had violated both the collective agreement and the Industrial Relations Act. Prior to trial, the trial judge raised the preliminary question of whether the court had jurisdiction to hear a claim arising out of a collective agreement, given the comprehensive provision in the Industrial Relations Act for the submission to arbitration of all differences between parties to a collective agreement. That question was answered in the negative at trial and the conclusion upheld on appeal.

Held: The appeal should be dismissed.

The grievance and arbitration procedures provided for in labour relations statutes generally provide the exclusive recourse open to parties to a collective agreement for its enforcement. This is true whether or not the questions in issue might have arisen under the common law of master and servant in the absence of a collective bargaining regime, if the collective agreement binding the parties provides for the matters in issue. It is also true whether or not the meaning or application of a collective agreement's terms are disputed.

Judicial deference to the arbitration process is present whether the board in question is a statutory tribunal or a private tribunal not created by statute. This deference springs from the idea that, were the courts available as an alternative forum, violence would be done to a comprehensive statutory scheme designed to govern all aspects of the relationship of the parties...

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