Labour & Employment Law.

We advise and represent trade unions on a wide range of matters, including collective agreement negotiations, grievance arbitration and mediation, certification and de-certification applications, single employer and successorship applications, duty of fair representation complaints, unfair labour practices complaints, and strikes and lockouts, health benefits plans, and pension plans. We have litigated grievances concerning matters such as discipline, termination, refusals to hire, drug and alcohol testing and discipline, layoffs, overtime, seniority, vacations and statutory holidays, privacy and surveillance, discrimination, return-to-work issues, harassment, workplace safety, and training. We have extensive experience with trade union internal governance issues, such as drafting and amending union constitutions, elections, general meetings, and membership discipline issues. We have represented trade unions before the BC Labour Relations Board, the Canada Industrial Relations Board, the BC Supreme Court, the Federal Court, and the Federal Court of Appeal.

We also advise and represent employees and employers on employment law issues such as employment contracts, terminations (both with and without cause), human rights, constructive dismissals, misconduct, WorkSafeBC matters, non-compete/solicitation clauses, and other employment-related issues.

Representative Work

• In 2022, when a professional association suspended a member for one year based on a vague allegation of harassment, we commenced a proceeding on behalf of the member before the Supreme Court of British Columbia. In Webb v Canadian Medical Association, 2022 BCSC 619, the court determined that the suspension was conducted contrary to the norms of natural justice.
• In 2022, we provided counsel to a senior civil servant who underwent an investigation into allegations that she had engaged in inappropriate and disrespectful treatment of staff, and harassment. The investigation concluded that our client had not engaged in harassment and that she had acted in an appropriate and respectful manner towards staff on almost all occasions.
• In 2023-2024, we represented a trade union client with respect to a grievance that alleged that the grievor was harassed by her managers, and that the employer had failed to comply with federal legislation regulating the conduct of harassment investigations. We were able to negotiate a favourable settlement agreement for the grievor.