4. (1) The following definitions apply in this Part.

“essential service” means a service, facility or activity of the Government of Canada that is or will be, at any time, necessary for the safety or security of the public or a segment of the public.

“essential services agreement” means an agreement between the employer and the bargaining agent for a bargaining unit that identifies

(a) the types of positions in the bargaining unit that are necessary for the employer to provide essential services;

(b) the number of those positions that are necessary for that purpose; and

(c) the specific positions that are necessary for that purpose.

“mediator” means a person appointed as a mediator under subsection 108(1).

“National Joint Council” means the National Joint Council whose establishment was authorized by Order in Council P.C. 3676, dated May 16, 1944.

“parties”, in relation to collective bargaining, arbitration, conciliation or a dispute, means the employer and the bargaining agent.

“public interest commission” means a commission established under Division 10.

(2) A position that is necessary for the employer to provide essential services for the purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition “essential services agreement” in subsection (1) includes a position the occupant of which is required, at any time,

(a) to perform the duties of the position that relate to the provision of essential services; or

(b) to be available during his or her off-duty hours to report to work without delay to perform those duties if required to do so by the employer.

5. Every employee is free to join the employee organization of his or her choice and to participate in its lawful activities.

6. Nothing in this Act is to be construed as affecting the right or authority of the Treasury Board under paragraph 7(1)(b) of the Financial Administration Act.

7. Nothing in this Act is to be construed as affecting the right or authority of the Treasury Board or a separate agency to determine the organization of those portions of the federal public administration for which it represents Her Majesty in right of Canada as employer or to assign duties to and to classify positions and persons employed in those portions of the federal public administration.

8. Each deputy head must, in consultation with the bargaining agents representing employees in the portion of the federal public administration for which he or she is deputy head, establish a consultation committee consisting of representatives of the deputy head and the bargaining agents for the purpose of exchanging information and obtaining views and advice on issues relating to the workplace that affect those employees, which issues may include, among other things,

(a) harassment in the workplace; and

(b) the disclosure of information concerning wrongdoing in the public service and the protection from reprisal of employees who disclose such information.

9. For the purpose of this Division, “co-development of workplace improvements” means the consultation between the parties on workplace issues and their participation in the identification of workplace problems and the development and analysis of solutions to those problems with a view to adopting mutually agreed to solutions.

10. The employer and a bargaining agent, or a deputy head and a bargaining agent, may engage in co-development of workplace improvements.

11. Co-development of workplace improvements by the employer and a bargaining agent may take place under the auspices of the National Joint Council or any other body they may agree on.

12. A Board is established, to be called the Public Service Labour Relations Board, consisting of a Chairperson, up to three Vice-Chairpersons and any other members that the Governor in Council may appoint.

13. The Board’s mandate is to provide adjudication services, mediation services and compensation analysis and research services in accordance with this Act.

14. The adjudication services to be provided by the Board consist of the hearing of applications and complaints made under this Part, the referral of grievances to adjudication in accordance with Part 2 and the hearing of matters brought before the Board under Part 3.

15. The mediation services to be provided by the Board consist of

(a) assisting parties in the negotiation of collective agreements and their renewal;

(b) assisting parties in the management of the relations resulting from the implementation of collective agreements;

(c) mediating in relation to grievances; and

(d) assisting the Chairperson in discharging his or her responsibilities under this Act.

16. (1) The compensation analysis and research services to be provided by the Board include conducting compensation surveys, compiling information relating to compensation, analyzing that information and making it, and the analysis, available to the parties and to the public, and conducting any research relating to compensation that the Chairperson may direct.

(2) In making information or analysis available under subsection (1), no member and no person employed by or acting under the direction of the Board shall disclose or knowingly cause to be disclosed, by any means, any information that makes it possible to relate the information or analysis to any identifiable individual person, business or organization.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the person, business or organization concerned has consented in writing to the information being disclosed.

17. The Board’s mandate includes the provision of facilities and administrative support to the National Joint Council.

18. (1) To be eligible to hold office as a member, a person must

(a) be a Canadian citizen within the meaning of the Citizenship Act or a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;

(b) not hold any other office or employment under the employer;

(c) not be a member of or hold an office or employment under an employee organization certified as a bargaining agent;

(d) not carry on any activity inconsistent with the person’s functions; and

(e) have knowledge of or experience in labour relations.

(2) Despite paragraph (1)(b), a person is not ineligible to hold office as a member by reason only of holding office as a member of any board that may be constituted by the Commissioner in Council of the Northwest Territories or the Legislature of Yukon or the Legislature for Nunavut with powers and functions similar to those of the Board.

2003, c. 22, ss. 2 "18", 273.

19. (1) Every member, other than the Chairperson or a Vice-Chairperson, must be appointed from among eligible persons whose names are included on a list prepared by the Chairperson after consultation with the employer and the bargaining agents.

(2) The Chairperson must set out on the list

(a) the names of all eligible persons recommended by the employer;

(b) the names of all eligible persons recommended by the bargaining agents; and

(c) the names of any other eligible persons whom the Chairperson considers suitable for appointment.

(3) The appointment of members, other than the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairpersons, is to be made so as to ensure that, to the extent possible, an equal number are appointed from among persons recommended by the employer and from among persons recommended by the bargaining agents.

(4) Despite being recommended by the employer or the bargaining agents, a member does not represent either the employer or the employees and must act impartially in respect of all powers and functions under this Act.

20. The Chairperson and the Vice-Chairpersons are each full-time members and the other members may be appointed as full-time or part-time members.

21. The full-time members must reside in the National Capital Region described in the schedule to the National Capital Act or within any distance of it that the Governor in Council may determine.

22. (1) Each member is to be appointed to hold office during good behaviour and may be removed by the Governor in Council for cause.

(2) A member may be appointed for a term of office that is not more than five years.

(3) A member is eligible for reappointment on the expiry of any term of office.

(4) A person who ceases to be a member for any reason other than removal may, at the request of the Chairperson, within eight weeks after ceasing to be a member, carry out and complete any functions or responsibilities that the person would otherwise have had in connection with any matter that came before the Board while the person was still a member and in respect of which there was any proceeding in which the person participated as a member. For that purpose, the person is deemed to be a part-time member.

23. Every member and former member referred to in subsection 22(4)

(a) is to be paid the remuneration that may be determined by the Governor in Council; and

(b) is entitled to be paid reasonable travel and other expenses incurred by them in the course of their duties under this Act while absent from, in the case of full-time members, their ordinary place of work and, in the case of part-time members, their ordinary place of residence.

24. A full-time member is deemed to be employed in the public service for the purposes of the Public Service Superannuation Act.

25. Members are deemed to be employed in the federal public administration for the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and regulations made under section 9 of the Aeronautics Act.

26. The head office of the Board is to be in the National Capital Region described in the schedule to the National Capital Act.

27. (1) Meetings of the Board may be held at any date, time and place that the Chairperson considers appropriate for the proper conduct of the Board’s business.

(2) A meeting of the Board may be held by any means of telecommunication that permits all persons participating in the meeting to communicate adequately with each other during the meeting. A person participating by such means is deemed to be present at the meeting.

28. The Chairperson, one Vice-Chairperson and a majority of the other full-time members of the Board constitute a quorum at a meeting of the Board.

29. A part-time member is not entitled to attend a meeting of the Board, but may attend at the invitation of the Chairperson.

30. A decision of a majority of the Board’s members who are present at a Board meeting is a decision of the Board.

31. Proceedings brought before the Board under this Part are to be heard and determined by a panel of not less than three members, at least one of whom is the Chairperson or a Vice-Chairperson, or, if the Chairperson considers it appropriate in the circumstances, by a panel consisting of a single member.

32. A panel has all the powers, rights and privileges of the Board with respect to any matter assigned to the panel under this Part.

33. The chairperson of a panel that consists of three or more members is the Chairperson or, if the Chairperson is not a member of the panel, a Vice-Chairperson designated by the Chairperson.

34. (1) In the event of the death or incapacity of a member of a panel consisting of three or more members, other than the death or incapacity of the chairperson, the chairperson may determine any matter that was before the panel and the chairperson’s decision is deemed to be the decision of the panel.

(2) In the event of the death or incapacity of the chairperson of a panel, or of the member when the panel consists of a single member, the Chairperson must establish a new panel to hear and determine the matter on any terms and conditions that the Chairperson may specify for the protection and preservation of the rights and interests of the parties.

35. (1) A decision made by a majority of the members of a panel is the decision of the panel or, if no decision is supported by the majority of the members of the panel, the decision of the chairperson of the panel is the decision of the panel.

(2) A decision of a panel is a decision of the Board.

36. The Board administers this Act and it may exercise the powers and perform the functions that are conferred or imposed on it by this Act, or as are incidental to the attainment of the objects of this Act, including the making of orders requiring compliance with this Act, regulations made under it or decisions made in respect of a matter coming before the Board.

37. The Board, or any member or employee of the Board designated by the Board, may, if the parties agree, assist the parties in resolving any issue in dispute at any stage of a proceeding by any means that the Board considers appropriate, without prejudice to its power to determine issues that have not been settled.

38. The Board may authorize the Chairperson to exercise any of its powers or perform any of its functions, other than the power to make regulations.

39. The Board may make regulations concerning

(a) the certification of bargaining agents for bargaining units;

(b) the determination of units appropriate for collective bargaining;

(c) the time and manner of making applications under section 59, the provision of copies of those applications and the filing of objections in respect of any positions referred to in those applications;

(d) the authority vested in a council of employee organizations that is to be considered the appropriate authority within the meaning of paragraph 64(1)(c);

(e) the manner of making applications under sections 71 and 77, the time and manner of providing copies of those applications and the time and manner of the filing of objections in respect of any positions referred to in applications under section 71;

(f) the rights, privileges and duties that are acquired or retained by an employee organization in respect of a bargaining unit or any employee included in a bargaining unit when there is a merger, an amalgamation or a transfer of jurisdiction between two or more employee organizations;

(g) the revocation of certification of a bargaining agent, including the rights and privileges that have accrued to and are retained by any employee despite the revocation;

(h) the manner of giving notices referred to in subsection 103(1), and the form of those notices, and the manner of making applications referred to in subsection 104(1), and the form of those applications;

(i) the procedure for hearings;

(j) the specification of the times within which notices, other than those referred to in subsections 130(1) and (2), and other documents are to be sent or given under this Part, the persons to whom they are to be sent or given and when they are deemed to have been sent, given or received;

(k) the determination of the form in which, and the time as of which, the following evidence is to be presented to the Board on an application for certification or revocation of certification of a bargaining agent:

(i) evidence as to membership of employees in an employee organization,

(ii) evidence of objection by employees to certification of an employee organization, and

(iii) evidence of signification by employees that they no longer wish to be represented by an employee organization;

(l) the circumstances in which evidence referred to in paragraph (k) may be received by it as evidence that any employees wish or do not wish to have a particular employee organization represent them as their bargaining agent, and the circumstances in which it must not make public any evidence so received; and

(m) any other matter that is incidental or conducive to the exercise of its powers, the performance of its functions or the attainment of the objects of this Part.

40. (1) The Board has, in relation to any matter before it, the power to

(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 pre-hearing procedures, including pre-hearing conferences that are held in private, and direct the date, time and place of the hearings for those procedures;

(c) order that a hearing or a pre-hearing conference be conducted using any means of telecommunication that permits all persons participating in the conference to communicate adequately with each other;

(d) administer oaths and solemn affirmations;

(e) accept any evidence, whether admissible in a court of law or not;

(f) examine any evidence that is submitted to it respecting membership of employees in an employee organization seeking certification and, in the case of a council of employee organizations seeking certification, in any employee organization forming part of the council;

(g) examine documents forming or relating to the constitution or articles of association of any employee organization seeking certification and, in the case of a council of employee organizations seeking certification, those of any employee organization forming part of the council;

(h) compel, at any stage of a proceeding, any person to produce the documents and things that may be relevant;

(i) require the employer to post and keep posted in appropriate places any notice that the Board considers necessary to bring matters or proceedings before the Board to the attention of employees;

(j) 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 before it;

(k) subject to any limitations that the Governor in Council may establish in the interests of defence or security, enter any premises of the employer for the purpose of conducting representation votes during working hours; and

(l) authorize any person to do anything that the Board may do under paragraphs (d) to (k) and require the person to report to it on what the person has done.

(2) The Board may dismiss summarily any application or complaint that in its opinion is frivolous or vexatious.

41. The Board may decide any matter before it without holding an oral hearing.

42. In making an order or a decision, or doing any other thing in relation to any person under this Act, the Board may do so either generally or in any particular case or class of cases.

43. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Board may review, rescind or amend any of its orders or decisions, or may re-hear any application before making an order in respect of the application.

(2) A right that is acquired by virtue of an order or a decision that is reviewed, rescinded or amended by the Board may not be altered or extinguished with effect from a day that is earlier than the day on which the review, rescission or amendment is made.

44. The Chairperson is the chief executive officer of the Board and has supervision over and direction of the work of the Board, including

(a) the assignment and reassignment of matters that the Board is seized of to panels;

(b) the composition of panels and the assignment of Vice-Chairpersons to preside over panels; and

(c) the determination of the date, time and place of hearings.

45. The Chairperson may authorize a Vice-Chairperson to exercise any of the Chairperson’s powers or perform any of the Chairperson’s functions, including powers or functions delegated to the Chairperson by the Board.

46. (1) If the Chairperson is absent or unable to act, or the office of Chairperson is vacant, a Vice-Chairperson designated by the Minister is to act as Chairperson.

(2) In the event of the absence or incapacity of both the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson designated by the Minister, or if both of those offices are vacant, the Minister may designate a member or any qualified person to act as Chairperson but no person so designated by the Minister has authority to act as Chairperson for more than 60 days without the approval of the Governor in Council.

47. The Chairperson is authorized, in respect of persons employed by the Board, to exercise the powers and perform the functions of the Treasury Board under the Financial Administration Act that relate to human resources management within the meaning of paragraph 7(1)(e) and section 11.1 of that Act, and those of deputy heads under subsection 12(2) of that Act, including the determination of terms and conditions of employment of persons employed by the Board.

48. (1) An Executive Director of the Board is to be appointed under the Public Service Employment Act.

(2) The Executive Director of the Board assists the Chairperson in the exercise of the Chairperson’s functions and, subject to the Chairperson’s direction, directs and supervises the day-to-day conduct of the work of the Board, the management of the Board’s internal affairs and the work of persons employed by the Board.

49. All other persons that the Board considers necessary for it to employ are to be appointed under the Public Service Employment Act.

50. (1) The Chairperson may engage on a temporary basis the services of mediators and other experts or persons having technical or special knowledge to assist the Board in an advisory capacity and, subject to the approval of the Governor in Council, fix their remuneration.

(2) A person engaged under subsection (1) is not to be considered as being employed in the public service for the purposes of the Public Service Superannuation Act by reason only of being so engaged.

51. (1) Subject to this Part, every order or decision of the Board is final and may not be questioned or reviewed in any court, except in accordance with the Federal Courts Act on the grounds referred to in paragraph 18.1(4)( a), ( b) or ( e) of that Act.

(2) The Board has standing to appear in proceedings referred to in subsection (1) for the purpose of making submissions regarding the standard of review to be used with respect to decisions of the Board and the Board’s jurisdiction, policies and procedures.

(3) Except as permitted by subsection (1), no order, decision or proceeding of the Board made or carried on under or purporting to be made or carried on under this Part may, on any ground, including the ground that the order, decision or proceeding is beyond the jurisdiction of the Board to make or carry on or that, in the course of any proceeding, the Board for any reason exceeded or lost its jurisdiction,

( a) be questioned, reviewed, prohibited or restrained; or

( b) be made the subject of any proceedings in or any process of any court, whether by way of injunction, certiorari, prohibition, quo warranto or otherwise.

2003, c. 22, ss. 2 "51", 274.

52. (1) The Board must, on the request in writing of any person or organization affected by any order of the Board, file a certified copy of the order, exclusive of the reasons for the order, in the Federal Court, unless, in its opinion,

(a) there is no indication of failure or likelihood of failure to comply with the order; or

(b) there is other good reason why the filing of the order in the Federal Court would serve no useful purpose.

(2) An order of the Board becomes an order of the Federal Court when a certified copy of the order is filed in that court, and it may subsequently be enforced as such.

53. (1) The Minister shall establish an advisory board to provide advice to the Chairperson on the compensation analysis and research services provided by the Board.

(2) The advisory board is to consist of a chairperson and no more than 11 other members appointed by the Minister.

(3) All of the members must have knowledge or experience that will assist the advisory board to accomplish its mandate, including knowledge of or experience in compensation issues or statistics.

(4) Appointments to the advisory board are to be made such that there is an equal number of members representative of the employer and of employees.