New Brunswick arbitrator looks at altercation between paper mill worker, truck driver at J.D. Irving

An arbitrator has ordered the reinstatement of a New Brunswick paper mill worker fired for making harassing comments to an Israeli truck driver, ruling that while the conduct breached the employer’s harassment policy, dismissal went too far.

In UNIFOR, Local 523N v. Lake Utopia Paper, arbitrator Guy G. Couturier, held that Ethan Chamberlain should return to work at Lake Utopia Paper, a division of J.D. Irving, Limited, after serving a four‑month suspension without pay or benefits and completing sensitivity training.

Chamberlain, a shipper with about four years’ service, was dismissed on May 7, 2025 for allegedly violating the company’s Safe and Respectful Workplace Policy during an April 28, 2025 exchange with long‑haul driver Igor Marichev. Marichev, employed by affiliated carrier Sunbury Transport, is Jewish, originally from the former Soviet Union and raised in Israel.

From cordial relationship to contentious exchange

Both men testified they had known each other for roughly two years and previously had cordial conversations when Marichev picked up loads. On the day in question – also the date of the federal election – Marichev entered the shipping office while Chamberlain was eating lunch. A polyglass divider separated them; there was no recording of the interaction.

The discussion began with the election and moved quickly to Israel, Gaza, Zionism, Nazism, the killing of...

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