FPSLREB Decisions

Decided without an oral hearing.

REASONS FOR DECISION

I. Background

1         The Association des membres de la Police Montée du Québec (“AMPMQ”) and the National Police Federation (“NPF”) each applied under s. 54 of the Public Service Labour Relations Act (S.C. 2003, c. 22. s. 2; PSLRA) to be certified as the bargaining agent of the regular members (defined as excluding officers and civilian members) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The NPF applied on April 18, 2017, to represent employees who are RCMP regular members and employees who are reservists throughout Canada. The AMPMQ applied on April 5, 2017, to represent only those regular members stationed in the province of Quebec (“Division ‘C’”).

2         On June 19, 2017, An Act to amend the Public Service Labour Relations Act, the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board Act and other Acts and to provide for certain other measures (S.C. 2017, c. 9) received Royal Assent, changing the name of the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board and the titles of the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board Act and the PSLRA to, respectively, the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (“the Board”), the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board Act, and the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act (FPSLRA).

3         In a previous decision, National Police Federation v. Treasury Board of Canada, 2017 FPSLREB 34, the Board consolidated the two applications. Following a motion from the NPF, it also made a determination as to the appropriate bargaining unit. The Board declared that the bargaining unit for the purposes of this certification is that legislated by s. 238.14 of the FPSLRA and described as follows:

The group that consists exclusively of all the employees who are RCMP members (excluding officers and civilian members) and all the employees who are reservists constitutes the single, national bargaining unit that is appropriate for collective bargaining.

4         In a letter dated November 9, 2017, the AMPMQ requested that the Board decide whether s. 238.14 of the FPSLRA, which mandates a single, national bargaining unit for employees who are RCMP regular members and employees who are reservists, is constitutionally valid and whether the Board should apply it. The AMPMQ also asked for a stay of the certification process until the constitutional question was decided.

5         The process for certification with respect to these applications is set out in s. 64 of the PSLRA. At the time the applications for certification were made, s. 64(1.1) provided that once the Board determines a unit appropriate for collective bargaining, it must order a secret ballot representation vote to be taken among the employees in the bargaining unit.

6         Section 64 of the PSLRA was amended on June 22, 2017, when An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, the Public Service Labour Relations Act and the Income Tax Act (S.C. 2017, c. 12) came into force. Section 16 of that Act set out that applications for certification filed under the PSLRA that have not been finally disposed of continue to be dealt with in accordance with the PSLRA.

7         In National Police Federation v. Treasury Board, 2018 FPSLREB 31, the Board decided that it would hear the constitutional question while continuing with the certification process. The Board also found that the NPF was the only applicant that met the legislative requirements for certification. As required by s. 66(1.1) of the PSLRA, the Board ordered that a secret ballot vote be held to determine whether employees in the designated group wished to be represented by the NPF as their bargaining agent. The Board further ordered that the certification proceedings be stayed immediately after the vote took place and before any tallying of the ballots. The stay was to remain in place until the Board determined the constitutional issue.

8         The hearing on the constitutional question took place on November 19 to 21, 2018, and March 26 and 27, 2019, in Montreal, Quebec, and on November 22 and 23, 2018, in Ottawa, Ontario.

9         The secret ballot vote was conducted by electronic means through an independent service provider and took place from November 21 to December 20, 2018. The question on the ballot was as follows: “Do you want the National Police Federation to be certified as your bargaining agent?”

10        In Association des membres de la Police Montée du Québec v. Treasury Board,2019 FPSLREB 70, issued on July 11, 2019, the Board

• dismissed the AMPMQ’s certification application;
• lifted the stay; and
• ordered that the vote held from November 21 to December 20, 2018, in the NPF’s certification application be tallied.

11        Following the issuance of the Board’s decision lifting the stay of proceedings, the vote was tallied. The result is as follows:

                                                                                                                       

Number of employees eligible to vote:	17 734
Number of eligible employees who voted:	14 459
Number of eligible employees who voted “Yes”:	14 012
Number of eligible employees who voted “No”:	437

12        The above figures do not include the votes of individuals identified in applications for managerial or confidential exclusion. The service provider attests that the results have been independently certified, securely processed and accurately tabulated.

13        Having considered all of the above, the Board is satisfied that a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit who were eligible to vote and who cast a ballot voted to have the NPF represent them as their bargaining agent. On this basis, the Board certifies the NPF as the bargaining agent for the bargaining unit.

14        A certificate will be issued accordingly.

15        The applications for exclusion on a managerial or confidential basis will be addressed in the normal course.

16        For all of the above reasons, the Board makes the following order:

II. Order

17        The NPF’s application is allowed.

18        The Board certifies the National Police Federation as the bargaining agent for the bargaining unit described as follows:

All the employees who are RCMP members (excluding officers and civilian members) and all the employees who are reservists.

19        A certificate will be issued.

July 12, 2019.