Simon Mackey v. Attorney General of Canada

- Parties: The applicant was Simon Mackey. The respondent was the Attorney General of Canada.

- Subject Matter: The applicant brought a grievance challenging his dismissal from employment with the Correctional Service of Canada. The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board dismissed the applicant’s grievance. This judicial review application sought to quash the decision.

- Ruling: The appeal court ruled in the respondent’s favour, dismissed the application, and found the Board’s decision reasonable. First, the appeal court rejected the applicant’s argument that the adjudicator erroneously concluded that the employer had sufficient grounds to terminate the employment. The Board considered the applicant’s years of service and service record and knew about when his disciplinary issues began, the appeal court explained. Second, the appeal court rejected the applicant’s argument that the timing of his suspension prohibited the Board from reasonably concluding that his behaviour at work was sufficient on its own to break the employment relationship and justify his termination. The Board reasonably and carefully considered this issue and concluded that the series of suspensions without pay against the applicant for increasing periods of time did not have the effect of curbing his problematic behaviour, such that termination was the employer’s only remaining option, the appeal court found.

- Date: The hearing was set on Oct. 25, 2023. The court released its decision on Oct. 25, 2023.

- Venue: This was a federal case before the Federal Court of Appeal.

- Amount: Costs were granted in the all-inclusive amount of $1000.