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New LRB Vice-Chairs Appointed

The Labour Relations Board hasreceived three new Vice-Chair appointments: Leah Terai, Jim Carwana, andRichard Longpre. All three are experienced labourrelations practitioners. Mr. Longpre was also a Vice-Chair at the Board from1987 to 1996. Mr. Carwana will start with theBoard as…

Proposed Changes to EI, Elimination of Board of Referees

Bill C–38, theGovernment’s omnibus budget bill, proposes a number of significant changes in relationto Employment Insurance. Amendments to the Employment Insurance Act will allowGovernment to define what constitutes “suitable employment for differentcategories of claimants” and to establish “criteria for defining…

LRB Finds Employee Benefits Specialist Properly Excluded

The BC Labour Relations Board recently denieda union’s application to include an Employee Benefits Specialist in itsbargaining unit even though many of the duties of the position had previouslybeen performed by a bargaining unit position. The employer created the new…

New Independent Tribunal Proposed

On May 7, 2012, Minister of Justice and Attorney General Shirley Bond announced plans for a new independent tribunal with jurisdiction to resolvecommon strata and small civil claims outside the courts. If passed, theCivil Resolution Tribunal Act will create an…

Picketing Free Expression Trumps Alberta Privacy Law

The Alberta Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court decision declaring portions of the province’s Personal Information Protection Act unconstitutional as it relates to free expression on picket lines. In 2006, when employees at the Palace Casino in Edmonton…

When Do You Want Family Day?

The Minister of Labour, Citizens’ Services and Open Government, Margaret MacDiarmid, introduced legislation last week to establish a new statutory holiday “Family Day” in February 2013. The Minister also announced a public consultation process to seek input from British Columbians…