Canada (Attorney General) v. Association of Justice Counsel

Canada (Attorney General) v. Association of Justice Counsel

The Court applied a reasonableness standard, concluded the arbitration board reasonably distinguished overtime and travelling time from performance pay, found those benefits fell within permitted additional remuneration under ERA s.34(1)(a)(iv) because comparable overtime existed for some Law Group employees on May 9, 2006, held the board adequately considered the s.148 PSLRA factors, and determined paragraph 21 merely fixed a future effective date (120 days) rather than unlawfully extending the mandatory s.157 implementation period; accordingly both judicial review applications were dismissed with costs as ordered.

Citation
2011 FC 530
Parties
Applicant / Respondent (consolidated Files): Attorney General of Canada; Respondent / Applicant (consolidated Files): Association of Justice Counsel
Court
Federal Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
6 May 2011
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review of Arbitral Award (s.18.1 Federal Courts Act) / Reasons for Judgment and Order (final Judgment)
Outcome
Both applications for judicial review dismissed.
Legal Topics
Overtime Pay, Travelling Time Compensation, Expenditure Restraint Act (era) Compliance, Public Service Labour Relations Act (pslra) Factors, Standard of Review, Implementation Period of Arbitral Awards
Source Language
English
Labour Law Administrative Law Statutory Interpretation Public Law Arbitration Law Overtime Pay Travelling Time Compensation Expenditure Restraint Act (era) Compliance +3 more

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Parties

Attorney General of Canada

Applicant / Respondent (consolidated Files)

Association of Justice Counsel

Respondent / Applicant (consolidated Files)

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review of Arbitral Award (s.18.1 Federal Courts Act) / Reasons for Judgment and Order (final Judgment)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Appropriate standard of review for arbitration board’s interpretation (ERA vs PSLRA)
  2. 2 Whether compensatory overtime is equivalent to performance pay under ERA s.34(1)(a)(iii)
  3. 3 Whether compensatory overtime and travelling time constitute prohibited additional remuneration under ERA s.34(1)(a)(iv)

Ratio Decidendi

The Court applied a reasonableness standard, concluded the arbitration board reasonably distinguished overtime and travelling time from performance pay, found those benefits fell within permitted additional remuneration under ERA s.34(1)(a)(iv) because comparable overtime existed for some Law Group employees on May 9, 2006, held the board adequately considered the s.148 PSLRA factors, and determined paragraph 21 merely fixed a future effective date (120 days) rather than unlawfully extending the mandatory s.157 implementation period; accordingly both judicial review applications were dismissed with costs as ordered.

Court Disposition

Both applications for judicial review dismissed.

Orders

  • Application T-2179-09 dismissed with costs to the respondent (Association of Justice Counsel).
  • Application T-2080-09 dismissed with costs to the respondent (Attorney General of Canada).