Worker, employer both skipped case management conference, failed to respond to communications
A worker’s unjust dismissal complaint has been dismissed by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board after both he and the employer failed to participate in any attempts to move the hearing process along.
The worker was employed with Lakeview Transport Corp., a federally-regulated freight and logistics company in Moose Jaw, Sask. On Dec. 31, 2020, Lakeview terminated his employment. In February 2021, the worker filed a complaint of unjust dismissal against the company.
The complaint was referred to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board in September 2021 and an industrial relations officer scheduled a mediation session via conference call scheduled for Dec. 15. However, neither the worker nor Lakeview attended the call.
The board requested a written response to the worker’s complaint from Lakeview and invited the worker to file a reply. Neither party responded, so the board referred the matter to a panel for consideration.
Case management conference no-shows
The board scheduled a case management conference for Dec. 22, 2022, and informed both parties with an email through its web portal. However, neither the worker nor the company opened the emailed notice, so the board sent paper copies of the notification via courier. The worker’s letter was returned as unclaimed, so it was sent through regular mail.
As with the mediation session, neither the worker nor Lakeview showed up for the case management conference, so it was cancelled.
The board made several attempts to contact the worker, but he didn’t return any phone calls or respond in any way.
On Feb. 2, 2023, the board sent a letter to the worker and Lakeview advising that another case management conference was scheduled for April 14. The notice was sent through the web portal and hard copies were sent by courier to both of them, and stipulated that the Canadian Industrial Relations Board Regulations, 2012, allowed the board to proceed and dispose of a matter if a person involved did not appear at a conference or hearing for which notification had been provided.
Electronic records showed that Lakeview opened the electronic document but the worker did not. The worker also didn’t claim the hard copy from the courier.
Neither party attended the second case management conference, so it was cancelled.
Canada Labour Code
The board noted that it was a “quasi-judicial tribunal” that had “wide discretion to choose the appropriate process and procedures to accomplish its functions and statutory obligations” under the Canada Labour Code.
The board also noted that case law has established that “a complainant who does not participate in the board’s processes risks having their complaint disposed of for abandonment rather than on its merits.” It added that its role was to handle matters that came before it effectively and efficiently, as its resources were limited and it had to keep things moving in the name of public interest and that of the affected parties.
The board found that the worker was provided with notice of the proceedings through various means including its web portal, emails, voicemails, and physical letters mailed to him. He was provided with multiple opportunities to participate in case management conferences – which are essential to the hearing process - but he did not do so or file any materials since the initial complaint. The worker also didn’t provide any reason for his lack of participation or contact the board otherwise, said the board.
“It appears that both [the worker] and the employer have simply disengaged from the board’s processes,” said the board in ruling that the worker abandoned his unjust dismissal complaint and, in such circumstances, it was free to dispose of the matter.
The complaint was dismissed. See Oozeer and Lakeview Transport Corp., Re, 2023 CIRB 1074.
