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RULES OF PROCEDURE

In these rules, “GSB” means the Chairperson of the Grievance Settlement Board or a person designated by the Chairperson.

  1. Location of Hearings

    On request of the parties, hearings shall be held where the parties agree. In the event of disagreement about the location, it shall be determined by the GSB.

  2. Written or Electronic Hearings

    Where the parties agree, the hearing may be held, in whole or in part, in written or electronic format, or any combination thereof. In the event of disagreement between the parties, the GSB may order all or part of a hearing to be held electronically. In this rule, “electronic format” refers to a hearing held by conference telephone, conference video, or other similar forms of technology allowing persons to communicate with one another.

  3. Consolidation of Cases

    Where two or more proceedings are pending before the GSB and it appears to the GSB that,

    1. they have a question of law or fact in common;
    2. the relief claimed in them arises out of the same transaction or occurrence or series of transactions or occurrences; or
    3. for any other reason an order ought to be made under this rule,
      4. the GSB, on such terms as it considers advisable, may abridge the time for placing a grievance on the hearing list, and may order that:
    4. the proceedings be consolidated, or heard at the same time or one immediately after the other; and/or
    5. any of the proceedings be stayed until after the determination of any other of them.

  4. Disclosure

    Upon the motion of any party, the GSB may order the provision of particulars. Upon motion by any party, the GSB may make an order for the production of documents, or for the inspection of documents arguably relevant to the grievance that are not privileged and that are in the possession, control or power of a party or any other person.

  5. English/French

    The GSB may hold hearings in either English or French. Hearings will be held in French at the request of either party.

  6. Days

    Unless specifically stated otherwise, any reference to days shall mean working days and shall be those days from Monday to Friday excluding statutory holidays and any other day the GSB is closed.

  7. Notice of Constitutional Question

    A party intending to challenge the constitutional validity of any law, regulation, or rule or to claim a remedy under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms must give notice of the constitutional question to the GSB, the other parties and the Attorneys General of Canada and Ontario as soon as the circumstances requiring notice become known and, in any event, at least 15 calendar days before the question is to be argued before the GSB, unless the GSB orders otherwise.

  8. Case Management

    Where a grievance referred to the GSB has been left unscheduled or adjourned for more than 12 months, the GSB may peremptorily schedule the grievance for the purpose of receiving submissions from both parties and make such order(s) as appropriate in the circumstances. The manner of scheduling shall be discussed between the GSB and the parties to each separate collective agreement, prior to October 1, 2000.

  9. Transitional Provisions
    1. These rules come into force on the 1st day of October, 2000.
    2. These rules apply to all cases before the GSB on the date these rules come into force, unless the GSB declares otherwise.
    3. Any case started or document filed before the coming into force of these Rules is not invalidated merely because such act or filing does not conform to these Rules.

  10. Interim Relief

    See Appendix A attached. These rules come into force on the 13th day of December, 2006.


APPENDIX A.

  1. INTERIM RELIEF RULE
    1. An application for interim relief must be made in writing to the Registrar with a copy to the other party. The request must:
      1. Clearly identify the grievance to which it relates and include a copy of same;
      2. Include a signed declaration of a person having first hand knowledge particularizing all of the facts on which the applicant relies in its request for interim relief. The signed declaration may set out statements of the declarant’s information and belief if both the source of the information and the fact of the belief are specified in the declaration;
      3. Set out why the applicant party submits that interim relief is necessary on an urgent basis as well as the specific relief sought;
      4. Address whether there is an arguable case on the merits in the grievance and the balance of harm or inconvenience to the respective parties.
    2. The responding party shall respond in writing within seven calendar days of receipt of the application. The response shall outline the responding party’s position with respect to the merits of the interim relief application and the relief sought. The responding party shall set out those facts upon which it intends to rely in a signed declaration or declarations. Such declarations shall be on the basis of first hand knowledge, unless they are on the basis of information and belief, in which case the responding party shall specify the source of that belief.
    3. In the event that the responding party requires an extension of time in order to provide a response and if consent is not provided by the applicant party, the responding party may request same from the Board by advising the Board in writing of its request for an extension. The Board may abridge the time for the filing of materials contemplated by these rules upon request by either party.
    4. If a Arbitrator has not yet been assigned to the main grievance in question, any applications for interim relief will be assigned for determination to a Arbitrator that is agreed upon by the parties, or in the event that the parties are unable to agree, assigned by the Board.
    5. If the Board considers that the application for interim relief discloses no arguable basis upon which to grant the relief sought, or if it considers that the matter is more appropriately deferred to the regular scheduling process governing the parties, it may, on its own motion, make such order as it considers appropriate in the circumstances provided that it does so within seven calendar days of the filing of the application with the Board.
    6. Interim relief matters will be scheduled and conducted in an expeditious manner, and the Arbitrator assigned to determine the matter may determine what additional materials, including documentation, viva voce evidence and/or signed declaration the parties will be permitted to adduce. Any signed declaration filed in reference to paragraphs 1 and 2 of these rules must be relied upon and adopted for the purposes of the interim relief application by the party filing them.
    7. A party seeking to rely upon facts that are not contained in the signed declarations that have been filed in the application shall provide the other party and the Grievance Settlement Board notice of its intention to rely upon such facts, a statement of such facts, and the reasons why the Board should permit it to do so. Leave of the Board is necessary for these facts to be introduced. Such notice shall be provided at least two days in advance of any hearing in which the interim application is to be determined although the Board may, in its discretion, permit the submission of such facts.

  2. OPSEU/TBS — Mediation/Arbitration Procedure

    This rule sets out the terms under which the OPSEU/TBS parties shall administer their mediation/arbitration procedure, pursuant to the current collective agreement. It is subject to any modifications made at the local ministry level by the ministry and the bargaining agent provided that such modifications are in accordance with the applicable collective agreement between the parties. At the request of other parties, these rules may be made applicable to them with any appropriate modifications agreed to by those parties:

    1. The grievances will be assigned to the mediator/arbitrators in the chronological order of the date in which they were referred to mediation/arbitration. A modification may be made to the chronological order to allow the hearing of a grievance at an earlier time, or to take into account the location, subject matter or any other relevant consideration that the parties may agree upon or the GSB may determine.
    2. To ensure the efficiency of the procedure, the parties agree that a reasonable number of grievances must be dealt with by each mediator/arbitrator for each of the days of hearings set aside.
    3. Within a reasonable time prior to the first meeting with the mediator/arbitrator, the parties shall meet or hold a discussion and shall
      1. review grievances and settle as many of them as possible,
      2. exchange a copy of any document they intend to use during any arbitration, including precedents and authorities,
      3. establish and attempt to agree on the facts relevant to each grievance, and
      4. make every reasonable attempt to minimize the use of witnesses.
    4. The parties may agree or the GSB may determine that other grievances in abeyance and raising similar issues to the issues raised by the grievances scheduled to be heard may be heard in accordance with Rule 3.
    5. Any other grievances including dismissal, sexual harassment, human rights, or union grievances with corporate policy implications may also be heard in accordance with the mediation/arbitration procedure if the parties so agree.
    6. The parties shall endeavour not to use external counsel (i.e. external to the Government of Ontario or OPSEU) to represent them in mediation/arbitration.
    7. The hearing shall be conducted in the most informal and expeditious way that is possible according to the nature of the grievances and all the circumstances.
    8. The mediator/arbitrator shall endeavour to assist the parties to settle the grievance by mediation. If the parties are unable to settle the grievance by mediation, the mediator/arbitrator shall determine the grievance by arbitration. When determining the grievance by arbitration, the arbitrator may limit the nature and extent of the evidence and may impose such conditions as he or she considers appropriate.
    9. Unless both parties agree, or the arbitrator determines, no written submission, precedent or authority shall be delivered to the arbitrator after the hearing.
    10. Whenever possible, the arbitrator shall deliver his or her decision orally at the conclusion of the hearing by giving a brief resume of his or her reasons and confirm his or her conclusions in writing thereafter.
    11. When the decision is not delivered orally at the conclusion of the hearing, the arbitrator shall render it in writing within five days after completion of proceedings unless the parties agree otherwise.
    12. The decision of the arbitrator shall have no precedential value, unless the parties agree otherwise. Where the parties agree to hear dismissal, sexual harassment, human rights or union grievances with corporate policy implications in this expedited process, they shall be with precedent unless the parties agree otherwise.
    13. Where any dispute arises concerning this procedure, a party may refer such dispute to the mediator/arbitrator for resolution or determination.