Employer argues previous actions addressed same issues
Apr 14, 2025
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The Manitoba Court of King's Bench has dismissed a worker’s constructive dismissal claim because it falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator and had been addressed in other labour actions.
The worker was a unionized employee with the City of Winnipeg’s Police Service beginning in December 2000. The certified collective bargaining agent of which the worker was a member was the Winnipeg Police Association (WPA).
In December 2017, the worker applied for a lateral transfer to the city’s Community Relations Diversity Unit. A few months later, she learned that she wasn’t selected for the transfer and appealed through the WPA, but the city advised that she wouldn’t be transferred at that time.
About one year later, in April 2019, the worker filed a human rights complaint alleging that the transfer decision was discrimination on the basis of her ancestry. The Manitoba Human Rights Commission found that the worker had actively engaged her union on the same issues as those in her complaint. Since the labour process and the human rights complaint process overlapped and both could address human rights issues, the commission dismissed the complaint as an abuse of process.
In April 2022, the worker resigned from her employment. The following month, she filed an application to the Manitoba Labour Board alleging that the WPA breached its duty of...
By Matthew Knott and Nick Bonyhady April 19, 2025 — 5.54pm , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any tim...