Labour board raises concerns as Liberals drag heels on appointments

OTTAWA – The federal board that resolves thorny labour disputes says its work is being compromised because it is short-handed, despite having warned the Liberals more than a year ago about the urgent need for more bodies.

What has happened instead is that the Canada Industrial Relations Board is operating with half the members it had when the Liberals took office, which has resulted in increased processing times and fewer cases being disposed of in 2016 than in 2015.

Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk was warned days after taking office of potential problems at the quasi-judicial body and pressed again before the summer to move on recommended additions to the board that were put forward by employer and labour groups.

Board chair Ginette Brazeau called the staffing issue an “immediate and pressing issue” in her November 2015 letter congratulating Mihychuk on being named labour minister. A second letter on June 7 reiterated the need to make the appointments before the ongoing delays ended with the board losing the services of six well-qualified candidates and further problems with managing the caseload.

Six months later, Mihychuk hasn’t filled the positions. In a statement, she said she plans to fill them in the near future.

Brazeau said this week that the delays in appointments are having an “increasing negative impact” the board’s work. She said she supports the federal effort to ensure merit-based appointments, but would welcome immediate selections in the interim to help the board do its job.

The issue with the board can be traced back to the new appointments process the Liberals put in place for federal boards and agencies that sought to remove questions about patronage by opening applications to any Canadian.

The industrial relations board doesn’t work like other bodies. The Canadian Labour Congress, representing workers, and the group representing federally-regulated employers, known as FETCO, vet potential members and submit their names for government approval so there are equal labour and employer representatives on the board.

Both groups say the process has worked for years. What they hope for now is to have the government give the board an exemption from the new appointment process so questions about unfair bargaining tactics, illegal strikes or lockouts, and union certification votes won’t be bogged down in government red tape.

“The appointments to the board are very unique and nuanced because of the interests the board represents at the end of the day,” said Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress.

“You have to be careful you don’t wreck the intention of what the board was constituted to do, because it does work.”

Derrick Hynes, executive director of the federal employers’ association, said the board could lose out on qualified nominees if the appointments process takes as long as it has this year.

“People who are nominated for these roles are experienced, highly qualified and sought-after individuals,” he said.

“When we put forward a nominee for appointment, obviously the more efficient the appointment-making process can be, the better. and you reduce the risk of your nominee finding another opportunity elsewhere.”