- June 10, 2021
- Court Decisions (Appeals, Judicial Reviews)
A French language decision – Judicial Review of decisions of the Quebec Labour Board concerning Drolet and Lacroix (duty of fair representation complaints relating to refusal of membership status). The Court rejected the local’s applications and upheld the decisions of the Quebec Labour Board. In particular, the Court found that the Board had acted reasonably and within its jurisdiction in finding: (1) that the local’s ability to decide the employee’s right to work through the membership-granting process entailed the assuming of an employer function (the Court described this as schizophrenic); (2) that the refusal of membership status was not a question of internal union business but rather one involving the collective agreement and the public order right to work; (3) that the employee was not obliged to make use of the union’s internal review mechanisms; (4) that the decision to refuse membership without explanation or procedural fairness was arbitrary and contrary to the duty of fair representation set out in the Quebec Labour Code; and (5) that the Board acted reasonably in fashioning a special reintegration and reimbursement remedy pursuant to the broad remedial powers set out in the Quebec Labour Code.