Foreword

Ron Snyder's Annotated Canada Labour Code is a comprehensive and indispensable compendium of Board jurisprudence, both pre and post-legislative amendments of 1999. The Annotated Code includes a review of relevant cases and comments pertaining to Part II of the Code (Occupational Safety and Health) as well as the Regulations enacted under each part of the Code.

It has become an essential reference tool for all labour relations practitioners who work in the federally regulated sectors and who want to obtain insights into the application and interpretation of the Canada Labour Code and the rights and obligations that it confers on the various parties in the workplace.

Mr. Snyder is to be commended for contributing such an important work to the library of reference materials on labour law, and for his commitment to keeping the tool updated and relevant for practitioners.

Ginette Brazeau, Chairperson

Canada Industrial Relations Board

This 2023 edition digests 89 new decisions that have been rendered by the C.I.R.B., the O.S.H. Appeal Board, adjudicators, referees and the courts since the publication of last year's edition, resulting in updates to approximately 94 areas of this treatise.

Highlights for this edition

• Part I: Industrial Relations. New case law developments under Part I of the Code include a discussion of when the Board is prepared to issue declaratory decisions; further delineation of when First Nation-related educational activities will be subject to federal jurisdiction; the Board’s discretion in determining which party arguments need to be fully addressed; and the role of an employer in section 37 complaints.
• Part II: Occupational Health and Safety. New jurisprudence under Part II includes how “danger” is to be interpreted where it is a normal condition of employment; the Board’s jurisdiction to hear appeals of directions issued by ministerial delegates; whether a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy is consistent with an employer’s section 124 duty to ensure the safety and health of its employees; further delineation of when an employer is obligated to investigate a workplace complaint; whether the Minister has discretion to refuse to decline such an investigation; whether confidentiality orders may be secured in the conduct of these investigations; and the Federal Court’s role in reviewing Part II investigation reports.
• Part III: Standard Hours, Wages, Vacations and Holidays. Part III cases provide further clarification of whether section 212 payments constitute “wages”; whether the Board is bound by the Labour Program’s Interpretations, Policies and Guidelines IPG-99; further insight into the purposes of the 16-week notice for group terminations; an employer’s obligations when waiving resignation periods of notice; the Board’s jurisdiction to hear wage recovery appeals where unjust dismissal complaint avenues are available; the attributes of an enforceable party settlement; the ability of the Board to dismiss claims for want of prosecution; and common law versus fixed term approaches for determining compensation orders.

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