The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario recently held a preliminary hearing to determine whether allegations made under the Human Rights Code (Code) fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of a labour arbitrator, or whether the Tribunal had concurrent jurisdiction over employment-related human rights matters in a unionized workplace.
The applications in Weilgosh v. London District Catholic School Board, 2022 HRTO 1194, were filed by unionized employees of the London District Catholic School Board and the Regional Municipality of Peel Police Services Board. The Tribunal found that the provisions of Ontario’s Labour Relations Act (LRA) and Police Services Act (PSA) grant a labour arbitrator exclusive jurisdiction to decide claims arising from disputes that in their essential character relate to the interpretation, application or alleged violation of a collective agreement (CA); however, the Code demonstrates a clear legislative intent to displace the labour arbitrator’s exclusive jurisdiction. Accordingly, the Tribunal found that it had concurrent jurisdiction to decide discrimination and harassment claims that fall within the scope of a CA governed by the LRA and PSA.
Prior SCC Decision
Notably, in 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) decided otherwise in Northern Regional Health Authority v. Horrocks, 2021 SCC 42, when it found that Manitoba’s Human Rights Commission (MHRC) does not have concurrent jurisdiction over human rights claims in a unionized workplace; rather,...
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