About CIRB

Frequently Asked Questions

• Exchanging Documents with Clients Via Electronic Mail
• Federal versus Provincial
• The Duty of Fair Representation
• Applications for Certification
• Applications for Revocation
• Application for Reconsideration of a Board Decision
• Unfair Labour Practice Complaint
• Unlawful Strikes and Lockouts
• Board Hearings
• Privacy Issues

Exchanging Documents with Clients Via Electronic Mail

Can I send an application or documents by electronic mail to the Board?
The Board cannot accept parties' submissions or documents in electronic format at this time. The Canada Industrial Relations Board Regulations, 2001 specify that documents are required to be filed by hand, by mail or by fax at one of our Board offices.

To obtain the address and fax number of the Canada Industrial Relations Board's regional office closest to your area, please click here, or call 1-800-575-9696.

Federal versus Provincial

Does my employer come under provincial or federal jurisdiction?
Constitutional jurisdiction over labour relations is primarily a provincial responsibility.

If you work in a restaurant, in retail business, in the construction industry, or in any other industries that are not mentioned below, you should contact the Ministry of Labour or the Labour Relations Board of your province.

If you work or operate a business in one of the following industries, your work falls under federal jurisdiction:

• Broadcasting
• Telecommunications
• Banking
• Airports or air transportation
• Shipping and navigation (including loading and unloading vessels)
• Interprovincial or international transportation of goods or passengers by road, railway or ferry
• Uranium mining and processing
• Grain handling
• A federal crown corporation

To obtain the address and fax number of the Canada Industrial Relations Board's regional office closest to your area, please click here, or call 1-800-575-9696.

Information regarding minimum employment standards (pay, hours of work, overtime, vacation or holiday entitlements, termination or severance pay) applicable to employers and employees under federal jurisdiction can be found on the Labour Program's website.

The Duty of Fair Representation

What is the duty of fair representation?
Under section 37 of the Canada Labour Code, a union or its representative must fairly represent all employees in the bargaining unit, with respect to their rights under their collective agreement, whether or not they are union members.

This does not mean that the union must process each and every grievance at all steps of the grievance procedure or that it must refer all grievances to arbitration. It does not mean that unions cannot make mistakes or that they must always be correct in every assessment they make as to the merits of an employee's grievance even though that mistake could have a negative impact on an employee. It should also be noted that a union can negotiate changes to its collective agreement even though the changes could negatively affect some employees, provided the union does not act in a discriminatory or arbitrary manner, or in bad faith.

Who may file a complaint?
You may file a complaint if you are an employee and you believe that a union treated you arbitrarily, acted in bad faith or discriminated against you, with respect to your rights under the collective agreement. As long as you belong to the bargaining unit represented by the union, even if you are not a union member, you may file a complaint.

When can you file a complaint?
Once you become aware of events or incidents that lead you to believe you are being treated unfairly, you have 90 days to file a complaint. You must ensure your complaint reaches one of the Board's offices no later than the 90th day after you knew, or in the Board's opinion should have known, of the events or incidents that led you to believe that your union violated section 37 of the Code. If you send your complaint by registered mail, it must have been registered by the 90th day.

The complaint form is available in PDF format and MS-Word format.

Applications for Certification

When can an application for certification be filed?
An application for certification can be filed with the Board at any time, where a trade union has not already been certified to represent the employees. Where a trade union is certified but no collective agreement is in force, an application may not be made by another trade union until one year after the original date of certification. Where a collective agreement is in force, an application for certification may only be made during the "open period" in that collective agreement, even if the incumbent union is not certified. The open period in a collective agreement having a duration of one, two or three years is the last three months of the agreement. Where the collective agreement has a longer duration, the open period includes the last three months of the third year and the three month period immediately preceding the end of each year that the agreement continues to operate after the third year.

An application for certification must not, except with the consent of the Board, be made during a legal strike or lockout that involves employees in the unit. The application must be in writing and comply with Part III of the Canada Industrial Relations Board Regulations, 2001.

For more information on the certification process, please consult information circular no. 7.

The application for certification form is available in PDF format and MS-Word format.

Applications for Revocation

What is an application for revocation?
An application for revocation is a request from a majority of the employees in a bargaining unit to decertify a union or cancel the bargaining rights of their union.

Is a majority support necessary to file an application?
Yes. If you are applying to have your union's bargaining rights revoked, you must include a separate and confidential statement, signed by a majority of employees in the bargaining unit, stating that they no longer wish to be represented by the bargaining agent. This statement must include the printed name and date on which the employee signed the statement. All signatures must be obtained within six months of the application being filed with the Board.

For more information on the revocation process, please consult information circular no. 10.

The application for revocation form is available in PDF format and MS-Word format.

Application for Reconsideration of a Board Decision

What is an application for reconsideration of a Board decision?
A party which is affected by a recent order or decision issued by the Board may request that the Board reconsider its decision. A request for reconsideration must be filed within 21 days after the date the written reasons of the decision or order were issued. The applicant has the burden of proving that there are serious reasons or even exceptional circumstances that would justify the reconsideration of a decision. It is not sufficient to provide a general criticism of the decision under review.

The role of a reconsideration panel of the Board consists in determining whether the application for reconsideration raises:

1. The existence of facts that were not available at the time the panel issued its decision and that are likely to have caused the Board to reach a different conclusion;
2. Errors of law or policy that cast serious doubt on the interpretation of the Canada Labour Code; or
3. A failure to respect a principle of natural justice.

The Board's policy with respect to an application for reconsideration of a Board decision is clearly established in Ted Kies, 2008 CIRB 413

Unfair Labour Practice Complaint

What is an unfair labour practice complaint?
An unfair labour practice complaint is an allegation that an employer, a trade union or an individual has engaged in an activity that involved prohibited conduct under the Canada Labour Code (Part I - Industrial Relations).

Who may file a complaint?
Pursuant to section 97(1), any person or organization may file a complaint. If a complaint is filed on behalf of another person or an organization, it must be signed by the appropriate officer or by a person authorized in writing by the complainant in accordance with section 6 of the Board's Regulations.

When should you file a complaint?
Complaints should be filed as soon as possible, and no later than 90 days from the date on which the complainant knew, or in the opinion of the Board ought to have known, of the incident leading to the complaint.

Unlawful Strikes and Lockouts

What is a strike or lockout?
Section 3(1) of the Code defines strikes and lockouts as follows:

"strike" includes a cessation of work or a refusal to work or to continue to work by employees, in combination, in concert or in accordance with a common understanding, and a slowdown of work or other concerted activity on the part of employees in relation to their work that is designed to restrict or limit output.

"lockout" includes the closing of a place of employment, a suspension of work by an employer or a refusal by an employer to continue to employ a number of his employees, done to compel his employees, or to aid another employer to compel his employees, to agree to terms or conditions of employment.

When is a strike or lockout unlawful?
A strike or lockout is unlawful when a group of unionized employees refuses to work or an employer suspends the work of a number of employees while the requirements of the Code in acquiring the right to lockout or strike have not been met. These requirements include:

• The union or the employer has given a notice to bargain collectively for the renewal of the collective agreement
• A mandatory conciliation process with an officer appointed by the Minister of Labour has been completed
• The union has obtained a positive strike vote from its members
• The party initiating the work stoppage has given the other party and the Minister of Labour 72 hours notice
• If there are services affected that are essential to public health or safety, the parties must have reached agreement as to how those services will be provided during the work stoppage.

Board Hearings

Do all applications made to the Board require a hearing?
No. The Code makes it clear that the Board may decide any matter before it without holding a hearing. The Board makes the determination of whether to hold an oral hearing on the basis of the documents on file and the written representations of the parties. It is therefore in the best interest of the parties to file full, accurate and detailed representations in support of their respective positions. A party requesting that a hearing be held in a matter must include the detailed reasons why they think a hearing is required.

If the Board determines that an oral hearing is necessary, it will notify all concerned parties of the time and place for the hearing. The Board does its best to accommodate the parties with respect to the location of the hearing. Hearings are normally held at one of the Board's offices but it can also be held at some other location closer to where the matter under consideration arose. In cases where the Board needs to hold a hearing expeditiously or in order to accommodate the parties, the Board may decide to conduct a hearing using videoconferencing technology.

If someone who has been given notice of a hearing fails to attend, the Board may proceed with the hearing and dispose of the matter in the absence of that person.

Are hearings recorded?
As a rule, it is not the Board's practice to record hearings or to prepare minutes. The Board members presiding over a hearing will take notes of the evidence and submissions but these notes are not made available to the parties or to the general public. Parties wishing a record of the proceedings are advised to take notes.

In exceptional circumstances, recording of a hearing will be permitted upon request to the Board. If the Board grants the request, it will be the responsibility of the party requesting the recording to make arrangements for such at his or her own expense. It will also be the responsibility of the party requesting the recording to provide the Board and the other parties with a copy of the transcriptions.

Is simultaneous interpretation offered at a hearing?
Simultaneous interpretation in the other official language is available and is provided free of charge. It is the responsibility of the parties to advise the Board of the need for this service in advance of the hearing.

Privacy Issues

Are privacy issues taken into consideration when the CIRB posts its decisions on its website?
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that, outside of exceptional cases, the public's right to know how justice is administered takes precedence over the privacy of parties appearing before the courts. The same holds true with regard to proceedings before the Board.

Nevertheless, the Board has adopted the Protocol for the use of personal information in judgments approved by the Canadian Judicial Council in March 2005. This reflects the ongoing commitment of the Board to seek a balance between the open-court principle and the privacy concerns of individuals, in accordance with accepted legal principles, and to report in its decisions only the personal information that is relevant and necessary for its reasons.

This approach is consistent with the statement on the use of personal information in decisions of administrative tribunals and the posting of decisions on the websites of administrative tribunals that the Heads of Federal Administrative Tribunals Forum adopted in May 2009. The Board fully endorses this statement.

I am concerned that my name will appear in a decision when an Internet search is performed on the website. Can anything be done to protect my privacy?
In June 2009, the Board modified its website to prevent Internet search engines (e.g., Google and Yahoo) from searching the full-text versions of decisions that are posted on its website. This was done using the "web robot exclusion protocol." As a result, Internet searches will not find names of individuals contained in full-text versions of decisions posted on the Board's website. As a result, Internet searches of "Smith" or "Corey Smith," for example, will yield no results from the CIRB's website.

The use of the "web robot exclusion protocol" is strongly encouraged by the Heads of Federal Administrative Tribunals Forum, as stated in its May 2009 statement on the use of personal information in decisions of administrative tribunals and the posting of decisions on the websites of administrative tribunals. The Board fully endorses this statement.

We cannot guarantee that these technological measures will always be respected or free of mistakes or malfunctions. If you have any question or concern please send your request to info@cirb-ccri.gc.ca.