Canadian Offshore Marine Ltd. v. Seafarers International Union of Canada, (1973) 1 N.R. 292 (FCA)

• Judge: Jackett, C.J., Pratte and Thurlow, JJ.
• Court: Federal Court of Appeal (Canada)
• Case Date: December 19, 1973
• Jurisdiction: Canada (Federal)
• Citations: (1973), 1 N.R. 292 (FCA)

Cdn. Offshore Marine Ltd. v. SIU (1973), 1 N.R. 292 (FCA)

MLB headnote and full text

Canadian Offshore Marine Ltd. v. Seafarers International Union of Canada

Indexed As: Canadian Offshore Marine Ltd. v. Seafarers International Union of Canada

Federal Court of Appeal

Jackett, C.J., Pratte and Thurlow, JJ.

December 19, 1973.

Summary:

This case arose out of an application to the Canada Labour Relations Board by a union for certification as bargaining agent for seamen. A question arose as to whether the seamen were employees of the employer Canadian Offshore Marine Ltd. The seamen worked on ships which were not owned by the employer. The employer paid the seamen and made all the required wage deductions but the employer was reimbursed for all wage expenses by the owner of the ships. When the seamen joined the ships they signed on in accordance with a statutory procedure as employees of the owners of the ships. The Canada Labour Relations Board made a finding that the seamen were not employees of the owners of the ship but were employees of Canadian Offshore Marine Ltd.

An appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal was dismissed and the decision of the Canada Labour Relations Board was affirmed. Thurlow, J., dissenting, would have set aside the decision of the Canada Labour Relations Board because its decision was not sustainable by the evidence which was before the Canada Labour Relations Board - see paragraphs 17 and 18.

Labour Law - Topic 4251

Certification of a union - Whether the union members were employees of the employer - The seamen worked on ships which were not owned by the employer - The employer paid the seamen and made all the required deductions from wages but the employer was reimbursed for all wage expenses by the owner of the ships - The employer reported the seamen as employees for purposes of income tax and unemployment insurance - The Federal Court of Appeal held that there was sufficient evidence before the Canada Labour Relations Board to support a finding that the seamen were employees of the employer for purposes of an application for certification.

Evidence - Topic 2501

Presumption of regularity of documents - An employer filed government reports in which it listed its employees - A union applied for certification as bargaining agent for the listed employees - The government reports were regarded as evidence of the names of persons who were employees for purposes of an application for certification before the Canada Labour Relations Board - The Federal Court of Appeal stated that the employer had the onus of showing that the government reports were false - See paragraphs 7, 11 and 12.

Counsel:

T.B. Smith and Paul Evraire, for Attorney General of Canada;

Michael Ryan, for Canadian Offshore Marine Limited;

Joseph Nuss, for Seafarer's International Union of Canada.

PRATTE, J., concurred with JACKETT, C.J.