Bill C-25

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Application of paragraph (1)(a)	(2) Before referring an individual grievance related to matters referred to in paragraph (1)(a), the employee must obtain the approval of his or her bargaining agent to represent him or her in the adjudication proceedings.
Designation	(3) The Governor in Council may, by order, designate any separate agency for the purposes of paragraph (1)(d).
Notice to Canadian Human Rights Commission	210. (1) When an individual grievance has been referred to adjudication and a party to the grievance raises an issue involving the interpretation or application of the Canadian Human Rights Act, that party must, in accordance with the regulations, give notice of the issue to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
Standing of Commission	(2) The Canadian Human Rights Commission has standing in adjudication proceedings for the purpose of making submissions regarding an issue referred to in subsection (1).
Exception	211. Nothing in section 209 is to be construed or applied as permitting the referral to adjudication of an individual grievance with respect to
	(a) any termination of employment under the Public Service Employment Act; or
	(b) any deployment under the Public Service Employment Act, other than the deployment of the employee who presented the grievance.
	Representation
Right to be represented by employee organization	212. An employee who is not included in a bargaining unit for which an employee organization has been certified as bargaining agent may seek the assistance of, and, if the employee chooses, may be represented by, any employee organization in the presentation or reference to adjudication of an individual grievance.
Right to be represented by employee organization	213. No employee who is included in a bargaining unit for which an employee organization has been certified as bargaining agent may be represented by any other employee organization in the presentation or reference to adjudication of an individual grievance.
	Binding Effect
Binding effect	214. If an individual grievance has been presented up to and including the final level in the grievance process and it is not one that under section 209 may be referred to adjudication, the decision on the grievance taken at the final level in the grievance process is final and binding for all purposes of this Act and no further action under this Act may be taken on it.
	Group Grievances
	Presentation
Right of bargaining agent	215. (1) The bargaining agent for a bargaining unit may present to the employer a group grievance on behalf of employees in the bargaining unit who feel aggrieved by the interpretation or application, common in respect of those employees, of a provision of a collective agreement or an arbitral award.
Consent required	(2) In order to present the grievance, the bargaining agent must first obtain the consent of each of the employees concerned in the form provided for by the regulations. The consent of an employee is valid only in respect of the particular group grievance for which it is obtained.
Single portion	(3) The group grievance must relate to employees in a single portion of the federal public administration.
Limitation	(4) A bargaining agent may not present a group grievance in respect of which an administrative procedure for redress is provided under any Act of Parliament, other than the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Limitation	(5) Despite subsection (4), a bargaining agent may not present a group grievance in respect of the right to equal pay for work of equal value.
Limitation	(6) If an employee has, in respect of any matter, availed himself or herself of a complaint procedure established by a policy of the employer, the bargaining agent may not include that employee as one on whose behalf it presents a group grievance in respect of that matter if the policy expressly provides that an employee who avails himself or herself of the complaint procedure is precluded from participating in a group grievance under this Act.
Limitation	(7) A bargaining agent may not present a group grievance relating to any action taken under any instruction, direction or regulation given or made by or on behalf of the Government of Canada in the interest of the safety or security of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada.
Order to be conclusive proof	(8) For the purposes of subsection (7), an order made by the Governor in Council is conclusive proof of the matters stated in the order in relation to the giving or making of an instruction, a direction or a regulation by or on behalf of the Government of Canada in the interest of the safety or security of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada.
	Reference to Adjudication
Reference to adjudication	216. The bargaining agent may refer to adjudication any group grievance that has been presented up to and including the final level in the grievance process and that has not been dealt with to its satisfaction.
Notice to Canadian Human Rights Commission	217. (1) When a group grievance has been referred to adjudication and a party to the grievance raises an issue involving the interpretation or application of the Canadian Human Rights Act, that party must, in accordance with the regulations, give notice of the issue to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
Standing of Commission	(2) The Canadian Human Rights Commission has standing in adjudication proceedings for the purpose of making submissions regarding an issue referred to in subsection (1).
	Withdrawal from Group Grievance
Right of employee to withdraw	218. An employee in respect of whom a group grievance has been presented may, at any time before a final decision is made in respect of the grievance, notify the bargaining agent that the employee no longer wishes to be involved in the group grievance.
Effect of notice	219. After receiving the notice, the bargaining agent may not pursue the grievance in respect of the employee.
	Policy Grievances
	Presentation
Right of employer and bargaining agent	220. (1) If the employer and a bargaining agent are bound by an arbitral award or have entered into a collective agreement, either of them may present a policy grievance to the other in respect of the interpretation or application of the collective agreement or arbitral award as it relates to either of them or to the bargaining unit generally.
Limitation	(2) Neither the employer nor a bargaining agent may present a policy grievance in respect of which an administrative procedure for redress is provided under any other Act of Parliament, other than the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Limitation	(3) Despite subsection (2), neither the employer nor a bargaining agent may present a policy grievance in respect of the right to equal pay for work of equal value.
Limitation	(4) A bargaining agent may not present a policy grievance relating to any action taken under any instruction, direction or regulation given or made by or on behalf of the Government of Canada in the interest of the safety or security of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada.
Order to be conclusive proof	(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), an order made by the Governor in Council is conclusive proof of the matters stated in the order in relation to the giving or making of an instruction, a direction or a regulation by or on behalf of the Government of Canada in the interest of the safety or security of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada.
	Reference to Adjudication
Reference to adjudication	221. A party that presents a policy grievance may refer it to adjudication.
Notice to Canadian Human Rights Commission	222. (1) When a policy grievance has been referred to adjudication and a party to the grievance raises an issue involving the interpretation or application of the Canadian Human Rights Act, that party must, in accordance with the regulations, give notice of the issue to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
Standing of Commission	(2) The Canadian Human Rights Commission has standing in adjudication proceedings for the purpose of making submissions regarding an issue referred to in subsection (1).
	Adjudication
	Referral by Chairperson
Notice	223. (1) A party who refers a grievance to adjudication must, in accordance with the regulations, give notice of the reference to the Board and specify in the notice whether an adjudicator is named in any applicable collective agreement or has otherwise been selected by the parties and, if no adjudicator is so named or has been selected, whether the party requests the establishment of a board of adjudication.
Action to be taken by Chairperson	(2) On receipt of the notice by the Board, the Chairperson must
	(a) if the grievance is one arising out of a collective agreement and an adjudicator is named in the agreement, refer the matter to the adjudicator;
	(b) if the parties have selected an adjudicator, refer the matter to the adjudicator;
	(c) if a board of adjudication has been requested and the other party has not objected in the time provided for in the regulations, establish the board and refer the matter to it; and
	(d) in any other case, refer the matter to an adjudicator designated by the Chairperson from amongst the members of the Board.
Conference	(3) The Chairperson may, at any time after receipt of the notice, direct the parties to attend a conference in order to attempt to settle or simplify the issues in dispute.
	Board of Adjudication
Constitution	224. (1) A board of adjudication consists of one member of the Board designated by the Chairperson, who is the chairperson of the board of adjudication, and two other persons, each of whom is nominated by one of the parties.
Ineligibility	(2) A person is not eligible to be a member of a board of adjudication if the person has any direct interest in or connection with the grievance referred to the board of adjudication, its handling or its disposition.
	Jurisdiction
Compliance with procedures	225. No grievance may be referred to adjudication, and no adjudicator may hear or render a decision on a grievance, until the grievance has been presented at all required levels in accordance with the applicable grievance process.
	Powers
Powers	226. (1) An adjudicator may, in relation to any matter referred to adjudication,
	(a) summon and enforce the attendance of witnesses and compel them to give oral or written evidence on oath in the same manner as a superior court of record;
	(b) order that a hearing or a pre-hearing conference be conducted using a means of telecommunication that permits the parties and the adjudicator to communicate with each other simultaneously;
	(c) administer oaths and solemn affirmations;
	(d) accept any evidence, whether admissible in a court of law or not;
	(e) compel, at any stage of a proceeding, any person to produce the documents and things that may be relevant;
	(f) subject to any limitations that the Governor in Council may establish in the interests of defence or security, enter any premises of the employer where work is being or has been done by employees, inspect and view any work, material, machinery, appliance or article in the premises and require any person in the premises to answer all questions relating to the matter being adjudicated;
	(g) interpret and apply the Canadian Human Rights Act and any other Act of Parliament relating to employment matters, other than the provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act related to the right to equal pay for work of equal value, whether or not there is a conflict between the Act being interpreted and applied and the collective agreement, if any;
	(h) give relief in accordance with paragraph 53(2)(e) or subsection 53(3) of the Canadian Human Rights Act;
	(i) award interest in the case of grievances involving termination, demotion, suspension or financial penalty at a rate and for a period that the adjudicator considers appropriate; and
	(j) summarily dismiss grievances that in the opinion of the adjudicator are frivolous or vexatious.
Power to mediate	(2) At any stage of a proceeding before an adjudicator, the adjudicator may, if the parties agree, assist the parties in resolving the difference at issue without prejudice to the power of the adjudicator to continue the adjudication with respect to the issues that have not been resolved.
Determination without oral hearing	227. An adjudicator may decide any matter referred to adjudication without holding an oral hearing.
	Decision of Adjudicator
Hearing of grievance	228. (1) If a grievance is referred to adjudication, the adjudicator must give both parties to the grievance an opportunity to be heard.
Decision on grievance	(2) After considering the grievance, the adjudicator must render a decision and make the order that he or she considers appropriate in the circumstances. The adjudicator must then
	(a) send a copy of the order and, if there are written reasons for the decision, a copy of the reasons, to each party, to the representative of each party and to the bargaining agent, if any, for the bargaining unit to which the employee whose grievance it is belongs; and
	(b) deposit a copy of the order and, if there are written reasons for the decision, a copy of the reasons, with the Executive Director of the Board.
Decision of board of adjudication	(3) In the case of a board of adjudication, a decision of a majority of the members on a grievance is deemed to be a decision of the board in respect of the grievance, and the decision must be signed by the chairperson of the board.
Decision where majority cannot agree	(4) If a majority of members of the board of adjudication cannot agree on the making of a decision, the decision of the chairperson of the board is deemed to be the decision of the board.
Decision requiring amendment	229. An adjudicator's decision may not have the effect of requiring the amendment of a collective agreement or an arbitral award.
Determination of reasonablenes s of opinion	230. In the case of an employee in the core public administration or an employee of a separate agency designated under subsection 209(3), in making a decision in respect of an employee's individual grievance relating to a termination of employment or demotion for unsatisfactory performance, an adjudicator must determine the termination or demotion to have been for cause if the opinion of the deputy head that the employee's performance was unsatisfactory is determined by the adjudicator to have been reasonable.
Determination of consent requirement	231. An adjudicator seized of a grievance referred to in subparagraph 209(1)(c)(ii) may determine any question relating to whether
	(a) consent to being deployed was a condition of the employee's employment; or
	(b) the employee harassed another person in the course of the employee's employment.
Decision in respect of a policy grievance	232. An adjudicator's decision in respect of a policy grievance is limited to one or more of the following:
	(a) declaring the correct interpretation, application or administration of a collective agreement or an arbitral award;
	(b) declaring that the collective agreement or arbitral award has been contravened; and
	(c) requiring the employer or bargaining agent, as the case may be, to interpret, apply or administer the collective agreement or arbitral award in a specified manner.
Decisions not to be reviewed by court	233. (1) Every decision of an adjudicator is final and may not be questioned or reviewed in any court.

Bill C-25

Group Grievances

Policy Grievances

Adjudication