Digest: Agrium Vanscoy Potash Operations v United Steel Workers, Local 7552, 281 ACWS (3d) 398

• Date: June 18, 2018

Reported as: 2018 SKCA 50 , 281 ACWS (3d) 398

Docket Number: CA17161 , CACV 3088

Court: Court of Appeal

Date: 2018-06-18

Judges:

• Jackson
• Caldwell
• Whitmore

Subjects:

• Labour Law � Arbitration � Judicial Review � Appeal

Digest: The appellant employer appealed to set aside the decision of the Queen�s Bench chambers judge that dismissed its application for judicial review of the arbitration award (see: 2017 SKQB 143). The award was made following a grievance by the respondent union challenging the appellant�s use of third party workers at one of its mines. The appellant argued that the chambers judge erred in her application of the standard of reasonableness in this case. The award was not reasonable because the arbitrator had failed to explain her conclusion and the decision lacked justification, transparency and intelligibility.
HELD: The appeal was dismissed. The court found that the chambers judge chose the correct standard of review to apply to the arbitrator�s decision and that the standard was reasonableness. After reviewing the arbitrator�s reasons, the court found no reversible error in the chambers judge�s application of the chosen standard of reasonableness and correctly concluded the arbitrator�s award was reasonable.

Cases Considered:

• Agraira v Canada (Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), 2013 SCC 36, [2013] 2 SCR 559
• Agrium Vanscoy Potash Operations v United Steel Workers, Local 7552 (Unreported), SaskAAC May22/13
• Agrium Vanscoy Potash Operations v United Steel Workers, Local 7552 (Unreported), SaskAAC Jun29/15
• Agrium Vanscoy Potash Operations v United Steel Workers, Local 7552, 2013 SKQB 445, 435 Sask R 178
• Agrium Vanscoy Potash Operations v United Steel Workers, Local 7552, 2017 SKCA 143, 281 ACWS (3d) 398
• Dr. Q. v College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, 2003 SCC 19, [2003] 1 SCR 226, 223 DLR (4th) 599, [2003] 5 WWR 1, 179 BCAC 170, 11 BCLR (4th) 1, 48 Admin LR (3d) 1
• Dunsmuir v New Brunswick, 2008 SCC 9, [2008] 1 SCR 190, 291 DLR (4th) 577, 229 NBR (2d) 1, 64 CCEL (3d) 1, 69 Admin LR (4th) 1
• Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals v...