United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, Local 213 v. Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd. et al., (1996) 172 N.B.R.(2d) 81 (CA)

• Judge: Hoyt, C.J.N.B., Turnbull and Bastarache, JJ.A.
• Court: Court of Appeal (New Brunswick)
• Case Date: January 17, 1996
• Jurisdiction: New Brunswick
• Citations: (1996), 172 N.B.R.(2d) 81 (CA)

PPF v. Saint John Shipbuilding (1996), 172 N.B.R.(2d) 81 (CA);

    172 R.N.-B.(2e) 81; 439 A.P.R. 81

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[French language version follows English language version]

[La version française vient à la suite de la version anglaise]

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United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, Local 213 (applicant/appellant) v. Saint John Shipbuilding Limited, Saint John Marine Craft Union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 2282 (respondents/respondents)

(351/94/CA)

Indexed As: United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, Local 213 v. Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd. et al.

New Brunswick Court of Appeal

Hoyt, C.J.N.B., Turnbull and Bastarache, JJ.A.

January 17, 1996.

Summary:

A union applied for judicial review of an order of the Industrial Relations Board issued in a work jurisdiction dispute.

The New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, Trial Division, in a decision reported 155 N.B.R.(2d) 58; 398 A.P.R. 58, dismissed the application. The union appealed.

The New Brunswick Court of Appeal, Bastarache, J.A., dissenting, dismissed the appeal.

Labour Law - Topic 433

Labour relations boards and judicial review - Boards - Jurisdiction - Loss of jurisdic­tion - Members of the pipefitters, electri­cians and machinists unions did shipyard instrument work - The machinists union filed a griev­ance regarding three work assignm­ents - The shipyard referred the matter to the Industrial Rela­tions Board - The ship­yard and the three unions executed new collec­tive agreements - The agree­ments with the electricians and the pipefit­ters contained a Memorandum of Under­stand­ing which excluded the ma­chinists from instrument work - The In­dustrial Relations Board considered past practice and deemed the Machinists to be parties to the Memor­andum and its mem­bers eligible to become Instrument Me­chanics - The pipefitters' applied for judi­cial review on the ground the Board ex­ceeded its juris­diction by not confining the inquiry to the machinists' original griev­ance - The New Bruns­wick Court of Appeal affirmed the trial decision not to grant judicial review.

Labour Law - Topic 438

Labour relations boards and judicial review - Boards - Jurisdiction - Provincial boards - Three unions and an employer were involved in a work jurisdiction dis­pute - In April 1994, the Industrial Rela­tions Board issued an order respecting the dispute, and in July 1994 issued an order clarifying its April order - One of the unions applied for judicial review of the July order - The trial judge dismissed the application, where the uni­on's argu­ments reflected narrow and formalistic interpreta­tions which were inconsistent with the flexibility and discre­tion of the Board under the Industrial Relations Act, ss. 83 and 89 - Such nar­row and formalistic approaches would prevent the Board from resolving a diffi­cult problem by adopting a novel middle ground or a unique solution - The New Brunswick Court of Appeal dismissed the union's appeal.

Labour Law - Topic 441

Labour relations boards and judicial review - Boards - Jurisdiction - Dispute between unions re work assignments - [See Labour Law - Topic 438 ].

Labour Law - Topic 529

Labour relations boards and judicial review - Powers of board - Respecting collective agreements - Power to add parties - Members of the pipefitters, electricians and machinists unions did shipyard instrument work - The machinists union filed a griev­ance regarding the assignment of certain instru­ment work - The shipyard referred the matter to the Industrial Rela­tions Board - The shipyard and the three unions executed new collec­tive agreements - The agree­ments with the electricians and the pipefitters contained a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the formation of an Instrument Mechanic Department com­posed of members of only those unions - The Industrial Relations Board considered past practice and deemed the Machinists to be parties to the Memor­andum and its members eligible to become Instrument Mechanics - The pipefitters' application for judicial review was denied by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal.

Cases Noticed:

Syndicat national des employés de la com­mission scolaire régionale de l'Outaouais (CSN) v. Union des employés de service, local 298 (FTQ), [1988] 2 S.C.R. 1048; 95 N.R. 161; 24 Q.A.C. 244, consd. [paras. 52, 90].

Service Employees' Inter­­­­­national Union, Local 333 v. Nipawin District Staff Nurses' Association et al., [1975] 1 S.C.R. 382; 41 D.L.R.(3d) 6, consd. [paras. 53, 98].

Canada (Attorney General) v. Public Ser­vice Alliance of Canada, [1993] 1 S.C.R. 941; 150 N.R. 161, consd. [paras. 54, 104].

Planet Development Corp. and Lester (W.W.) (1978) Ltd. v. United Associ­ation of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, Local 740, [1990] 3 S.C.R. 644; 123 N.R. 241; 88 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 15; 274 A.P.R. 15; 91 C.L.L.C. 14,002; 76 D.L.R.(4th) 389; 48 Admin. L.R. 1, consd. [paras. 55, 94].

Dayco (Canada) Ltd. v. National Automo­bile, Aerospace and Agricultural Imple­ment Workers Union of Canada (CAW-Canada), [1993] 2 S.C.R. 230; 152 N.R. 1; 63 O.A.C. 1, refd to. [para. 89].

Pezim v. British Columbia Securities Commission et al., [1994] 2 S.C.R. 557; 168 N.R. 321; 46 B.C.A.C. 1; 75 W.A.C. 1, refd to. [para. 89].

Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 963 v. New Brunswick Liquor Corp., [1979] 2 S.C.R. 227; 26 N.R. 341; 25 N.B.R.(2d) 237; 51 A.P.R. 237; 97 D.L.R.(3d) 417; 79 C.L.L.C. 14,209, refd to. [para. 92].

Kerr v. Metropolitan Toronto (Department of Social Services) (1991), 49 O.A.C. 362; 4 O.R.(3d) 430 (Div. Ct.), refd to. [para. 96].

Buanderie centrale de Montréal Inc. et autres v. Montréal (Ville) et autres, [1994] 3 S.C.R. 29; 171 N.R. 191; 63 Q.A.C. 191, refd to. [para. 97].

Canadian Broadcasting Corp. v. Canada Labour Relations Board et al., [1995] 1 S.C.R. 157; 177 N.R. 1, refd to. [para. 105].

Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. v. Arthurs, [1969] S.C.R. 85, consd. [para. 107].

Industrial Union of Marine Shipbuilding Workers of Canada, Local 3 v. Saint John Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. (1984), 56 N.B.R.(2d) 328; 146 A.P.R. 328 (I.R.B.), consd. [para. 108].

Graphic Arts International Union, Local 35-P v. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd., Printing and Graphic Communications Union, Local N-1, [1979] O.L.R.B. Rep. 811, consd. [para. 110].

Statutes Noticed:

Industrial Relations Act, R.S.N.B. 1973, c. I-4, sect. 1(1) [para. 48]; sect. 83(1) [paras. 44, 91]; sect. 83(2) [para. 45]; sect. 87(2) [para. 46]; sect. 89(1) [para. 91]; sect. 89(3) [para. 108]; sect. 121(3) [para. 48]; sect. 128(1) [para. 49]; sect. 131(1) [para. 40]; sect. 131(2) [para. 49].

Counsel:

Robert D. Breen, for the appellant;

William B. Goss, for Saint John Ship­building Ltd.;

Raymond P. Gorman, for Saint John Mar­ine Craft Union;

Theodore E. Wilson, for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 2282.

This appeal was heard on March 22, 1995, before Hoyt, C.J.N.B., Turnbull and Bas­tarache, JJ.A., of the New Brunswick Court of Appeal.

On January 17, 1996, the decision of the Court of Appeal was delivered and the following opinions were filed:

Turnbull, J.A. (Hoyt, C.J.N.B., concur­ring) - see paragraphs 1 to 74;

Bastarache, J.A., dissenting - see para­graphs 75 to 112.