Federal appeal | Labour Relations
CERTIFICATION
Security personnel essential to ensuring detention of peoplein facility
Company was large security company that provided security personnel to clients on contract. Most of the jobs held by company’s employees were governed by provincial legislation. Some jobs held by company employees such as those working in airport security were governed by federal legislation. Company obtained contract to provide security personnel to immigration detention centre. Union sought certification to represent company’s security personnel at detention centre. Conseil canadien des relations industrielles dismissed application for certification since it ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to hear application since these employees fell under provincial jurisdiction. Review panel at Conseil upheld decision. Union brought application for judicial review. Application allowed. Standard of review was correctness. There was no question that detention centre itself was under federal jurisdiction. Issue was whether job of security personnel had essential or fundamental link to operation of federal facility. Security personnel were essential to ensuring detention of people in the facility in accordance with federal law. Detention would not be possible without services of security personnel. Conseil committed error by concluding that their work was non-essential simply due to fact that detainees were mostly non-violent. Fact that contract was of specified duration did not change essential nature of work.
Syndicat des Agents de Securite Garda, Section CPI-CSN v. Corp. de Securite Garda Canada (Nov. 4, 2011, F.C.A., Noel, Trudel and Mainville JJ.A., File No. A-471-10) Reasons in French. 208 A.C.W.S. (3d) 849 (40 pp.).
