Arbitrator dismissed four union grievances alleging National Day of Mourning should have been a paid holiday. It is not enough for a day to be referred to as a “holiday” by a governmental entity to be deemed as such for collective agreement purposes; a legislative process culminating in the proclamation of the day as a “holiday” is required.

In a recent decision under the Labor Relations Act, 1995, Arbitrator Adam Beatty dismissed four union grievances concerning the National Day of Mourning, which was declared following the death of Queen Elizabeth. The grievors claimed that because the National Day of Mourning was a “holiday” within the meaning of the applicable collective agreements (CAs), it should have been recognized by the employer as a paid holiday. Arbitrator Beatty dismissed the grievances finding that the National Day of Mourning did not constitute a holiday under the CAs, and the employer did not violate the CAs when it did not recognize it as a paid holiday for its employees.

Background

When Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared September 19, 2022, a National Day of Mourning.

In Canadian Union of Public Employees and Its Locals 905.17 (Part-Time and Casual) and 905.18 (Full-Time) and Vaughan Public Library Board, the union representing the employer’s employees filed four grievances claiming that the National Day of Mourning was a “holiday” within the meaning of the applicable CAs and should have been...

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