About the Board
Mandate of the Canada Industrial Relations Board
The Canada Industrial Relations Board is an independent administrative tribunal. This means that it functions like a court, but its procedures are less formal. The Board’s job is to resolve workplace disputes and certain appeals that arise under the Canada Labour Code, the Status of the Artist Act and the Wage Earner Protection Program Act.
What are the laws that the Board interprets and applies?
The Canada Industrial Relations Board hears and decides complaints, applications and appeals related to:
- the Canada Labour Code;
- the Status of the Artist Act; and
- the Wage Earner Protection Program Act.
The Canada Labour Code governs labour relations, health and safety, employment standards, and administrative monetary penalties.
The Status of the Artist Act governs professional relations between artists and producers.
The Canada Labour Code and the Status of the Artist Act apply to federally regulated workplaces.
The Wage Earner Protection Program Act deals with wage earner protection when an employer declares bankruptcy or is insolvent. It applies to provincially regulated AND federally regulated workplaces.
The Board hears appeals of decisions under the Wage Earner Protection Program Act when any employer in Canada, whether provincially or federally regulated, is bankrupt or insolvent and owes wages to its employees. If you have questions about benefits under the Wage Earner Protection Program Act, click here.
For more information on each of these areas, click on About Appeals, Applications and Complaints in the header menu.
What is a federally regulated workplace?
Federal Works, Undertakings or Businesses
Only the activities of certain businesses fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government, and therefore the Canada Industrial Relations Board, for the purposes of the Canada Labour Code and the Status of the Artist Act. Among others, they include the following sectors:
- Air transportation and airports;
- Banks;
- Broadcasting;
- Grain storage and distribution (wheat, etc.);
- Postal services;
- Shipping and navigation;
- Telecommunications (telephone, television, Internet);
- Transportation, interprovincial or international (by road, railway, ferry or pipeline); and
- Uranium mining and processing.
In all these sectors, the Board hears complaints, applications and appeals related to the Canada Labour Code (labour relations, occupational health and safety, and employment standards).
For businesses in the broadcasting sector, the Board also hears complaints and applications related to Part II of the Status of the Artist Act (professional relations).
Businesses Located in a Territory
The Canada Industrial Relations Board hears complaints and applications related to Part I of the Canada Labour Code (labour relations) for private sector businesses located in the territories (Yukon, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories).
The Board does not handle complaints and applications related to occupational health and safety or employment standards for private sector businesses located in the territories (that is, complaints under Parts II and III of the Canada Labour Code). Questions and complaints about health and safety and employment standards compliance should be directed to the appropriate territorial offices. Links to provincial and territorial information are provided here.
Crown Corporations
Crown corporations are federally owned organizations that are structured like independent companies.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board hears complaints, applications and appeals related to Parts I, II and III of the Canada Labour Code (labour relations, occupational health and safety, and employment standards), as well as Part II of the Status of the Artist Act (professional relations), for corporations owned by the federal government. For example:
- Atomic Energy of Canada Limited;
- The Canada Post Corporation;
- The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation;
- National museums (for example, the Canadian Museum of History, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Canadian War Museum); and
- Via Rail.
Indigenous Businesses
For Indigenous businesses located in the territories, the Canada Industrial Relations Board hears complaints and applications related to Part I (labour relations) of the Canada Labour Code.
Provincial courts have jurisdiction over complaints and applications related to labour laws that govern Indigenous businesses located in the provinces. However, the Board hears complaints and applications involving certain Indigenous businesses located in the provinces, such as band councils. The Board will evaluate these situations on a case-by-case basis.
Federal Public Service
The federal public service includes federal government departments and agencies.
The Board hears applications and appeals related to:
- Part II of the Canada Labour Code (occupational health and safety)*
- Part II of the Status of the Artist Act (professional relations)
*Exception: The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, and not the Canada Industrial Relations Board, deals with health and safety reprisal complaints against a federal government department or agency. If a federal public servant wants to file a complaint about retaliation for raising health and safety issues in the workplace, it must be filed with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.
Other federal tribunals and agencies that deal with workplace issues
Other federal tribunals and agencies are responsible for hearing certain labour-related applications and complaints. These include:
- The Labour Program of Employment and Social Development Canada;
- The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board; and
- The Canadian Human Rights Commission.
To make sure your application or complaint is dealt with efficiently, verify that you are filing with the right organization. For further information, please visit our helpful links page.
The Labour Program of Employment and Social Development Canada
The Labour Program of Employment and Social Development Canada also has a role in federally regulated workplaces. It handles complaints and applications related to Canada Labour Code standards regarding:
- occupational health and safety (Part II); and
- standard hours of work, wages, vacations and holidays (Part III).
Complaints against an employer under Part II or III of the Canada Labour Code that are not reprisal complaints are first filed with the Labour Program, not the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The Board can only get involved after the Labour Program has heard and decided the complaint. For more information on Part II complaints (health and safety), click here. For more information on Part III complaints (employment standards), click here.
The Labour Program also processes and decides applications for payment under the Wage Earner Protection Program Act with the help of Service Canada.
The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board
The Canada Industrial Relations Board does not hear labour relations and employment issues in the federal public sector, except in cases dealing with health and safety appeals (directions and findings of no danger). The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board has authority over all other labour and employment matters for federal public servants. Federal public servants should contact their union or the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board with any questions.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission
Complaints about discrimination based on one of the prohibited grounds in the Canadian Human Rights Act are made to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board can deal with complaints of discrimination in certain cases; for example, in the context of a duty of fair representation complaint against a union.
However, the Board can only determine discrimination complaints against an employer in the context of an unjust dismissal complaint if a complaint was filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Commission referred the matter to the Board. For more information on what to do if you feel that your dismissal from work was discriminatory, click here.