FPSLREB Decisions

Decision review (jurisdiction) - Whether the Respondent had become a successor employer of employees involved in the property management of Federal Buildings across Canada - the applicant had filed a reference, under section 99 of the PSSRA, seeking a declaration that the respondent had become, by virtue of section 47.1 of the Canada Labour Code (CLC), a successor employer of the employees in the bargaining unit - the Board had decided, by letter to the parties, not to hear the matter until such time as the then Canada Labour Relations Board, now Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), had determined whether the respondent is subject to Part I of the CLC - the applicant requested that the Board reconsider its decision - in keeping with the novel nature of the matter and the fact that the parties had not been given a full opportunity to present their views on the issue, the Board asked the parties to submit written arguments - the applicant argued that the Board is the only tribunal with jurisdiction to decide whether a collective agreement has been breached by a successor employer and, as such, must consider the legal validity of any jurisdictional challenge and render a ruling on it - the applicant added that the Board had no authority to defer such a ruling until the CIRB had examined the issue - the respondent replied that the Board has no exclusive jurisdiction to decide whether the respondent was subject to the CLC and that the CIRB was the tribunal best suited to address this issue - the Board found that the CIRB was the appropriate tribunal to determine whether the respondent was a successor employer subject to Part I of the CLC - the Board added that, even if it had concurrent jurisdiction to determine the issue, it would be preferable to defer to the CIRB's concurrent authority, to avoid the possibility of conflicting decisions, which, in the end, could be to the detriment of all parties involved. Application dismissed.