Skip to content

Pre-Conference Survey: Conference on Canadian Labour Board Law 2010

Thank you for helping us to plan the Conference on Canadian Labour Board Law for 2010.

The conference will take place on October 19 and 20, 2010 at the Sutton Place Hotel in downtown Toronto.

Your opinion is very important to us. Please take a moment to answer the following short questions. We will be using the results of this survey to help structure the program.

Everyone who fills in an online survey will be entered in a draw to receive a free registration to a Lancaster House conference or workshop of his or her choice. Please complete the survey no later than April 6, 2010.

All personal details will be kept strictly confidential.
Please indicate your relative interest in the following panel discussion topics. Each panel will include management and union representatives, and a labour board chair or vice-chair.

Labour Boards and the Courts
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
Implications of the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Plourde v. Wal-Mart
Analysis of the issues in Fraser v. Ontario, pending before the Supreme Court of Canada
How much deference are courts affording to labour boards on judicial review?
Charter decisions of labour boards
The impact of Board reconsideration on the timing/deadlines for judicial review applications
The standard applied on judicial review of Board reconsideration decisions
Labour Board Jurisdiction
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
Federal versus provincial jurisdiction (Consolidated Fastfreight, NIL/TU,O Child & Family Services, Native Child and Family Services of Toronto)
Application of Canada Labour Code to extra-territorial operations
Jurisdiction: labour board, arbitration or the courts?
Enforcement of workplace statutes by labour boards – what are the limits?
Process/Procedure/Powers of the Board
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
Board discretion to consider late-filed information: how is it exercised?
Should labour boards have jurisdiction to review arbitrators’ decisions: lessons from the B.C. experience
Evidentiary issues at the labour board
Power of reconsideration: how is it being exercised across jurisdictions?
Board powers to order production/disclosure of documents (including pre-hearing production)
Board's management of lawyer conflicts – e.g. where counsel for one party alleged to be in conflict of interest
Use of community advisory committees by the Board
Variation of certification orders
The role of the hearing: is it growing or waning, and why?
What labour board adjudicators want from counsel and what counsel want from labour board adjudicators
Remedies
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
Remedies for failure to bargain in good faith
Remedial certification
Monetary awards
Remedies for violation of statutory freeze
Remedies for unfair labour practices
Remedies for illegal strike or lockout
Interim orders of the board, including interim reinstatement during an organizing campaign
Status under Legislation
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
Determining who is an employee, a dependent contractor, and an independent contractor
When is an employee primarily performing “management functions”?
Acquisition of Bargaining Rights
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
First contract arbitration
Automatic certification without a vote (due to unfair labour practices)
Union access to employer property
Effects of remedial certification
Vote versus card-based certification
Exclusions – which groups of employees should be excluded from collective bargaining?
Employee status – should atypical employees (e.g. temps, contractors) be given access to collective bargaining?
Bargaining unit determination issues
Privacy/access to information during the organizing/bargaining process
Prospects for multi-party certification
Continuation of Bargaining Rights
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
Successorship issues
Reconfiguring bargaining units in context of corporate restructuring
Meaning of sale or transfer of business
Bankrupt, insolvent and defunct employers
Private sector reorganization
Public sector reorganization
Related employer applications
Termination of Bargaining Rights
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
Issues in termination of bargaining rights
Early termination of collective agreements
Unfair Labour Practice Proceedings
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
Establishing and refuting allegations of anti-union animus
Employer communications to union members: what’s permissible? What’s not?
Termination motivated by anti-union animus
Improper interference with trade union
Restrictions on the use of replacement workers
Wage increases after notice to commence collective bargaining
Statutory freeze provisions
Should captive audience meetings be permitted?
The line between hard bargaining and bad faith bargaining
Unilateral changes to pension arrangements
The Duty of Fair Representation
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
Union’s duty of fair representation
Union’s obligations towards disabled, absent and former bargaining unit members
Union’s duty of fair representation in grievance arbitration/collective agreement negotiations
Liability of employer for union conduct
Liability of union for discriminatory collective agreement provisions
Regulation of Industrial Conflict
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
Strike prohibitions for certain occupations
Hot edicts, leafleting, boycotts and picketing (legality, jurisdiction of board, damages)
Strikes/lockouts
Essential services - variations in provincial and federal legislation, and Charter issues
Freedom of expression (ban on political protest strikes, free speech and picketing)
Ordering votes on final offers - provincial and federal experience
Availability of remedies to third parties affected by illegal job action
General/Policy Issues
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
Bargaining rights for migrant workers, temporary workers and other vulnerable groups
Canada’s international labour law obligations
US labour law reform – Employee Free Choice Act
Comparative labour board law (Australia, Europe, US)
Impact of economic downturn on labour boards
Impact of Bill 80, amendments to Saskatchewan's Construction Industry Labour Relations Act
First nations issues before the labour boards
Replacement worker and essential service legislation across Canada
Non-Labour Relations Act issues at the labour board (e.g., health & safety, employment standards)
How are other areas of law (e.g., occupational health and safety law and human rights law) impacting on Board jurisprudence?
Impact of the Charter on Board jurisprudence
Is the Rand formula mandated by the Charter (UFCW, Local 401 v. Old Dutch Foods)?
Adjudicator bias, tribunal independence (includes Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v. Saskatchewan)
Effect of amendments to CCRA & BIA on labour boards
Please list three other topics that you would like to see addressed at the conference:
Please indicate your level of interest in the following workshop topics:
Not Interested
Somewhat Interested
Interested
Very Interested
Innovative Board strategies in securing and promoting industrial stability
Building a better process: towards a more cooperative labour relations approach
Dealing with issues relating to contracting in & contracting out
Advocacy before labour boards: effective cross-examination, use of case law, external statutes etc.
Charter issues at the labour board (procedural and substantive)
ADR/mediation of labour relations disputes
Evidentiary issues before the boards
Avoiding duty of fair representation complaints
Challenging scenarios at labour board hearings
Strategies to dealing with difficult opposing counsel
Researching labour board law
Please list three other workshop topics that you would like to see offered:
Do you plan to attend the Canadian Labour Boards Conference on October 19 and 20, 2010?
If you do not plan to attend the conference, please indicate the primary reason:
Please provide any comments on your choice above.
Thank you for your help in planning the conference. We will contact you with the complete program when it is available, along with registration details.

If you have any questions regarding this survey or the conference, please contact us for further assistance.

Ania de Duleba
Conference Director