LABOUR RELATIONS |
CUPE Longshoremen's Union, Local 375 v. Federal Marine Terminals, Division of Fednav Ltée, Montréal, Quebec
T-938-99
Teitelbaum J.
26/4/00
22 pp.
Application for judicial review of regional safety officer's decision rescinding certain directions issued pursuant to Canada Labour Code (CLC) s. 145(2)(a) by safety officer following accident in Port of Montréal in which Federal Marine Terminals (FMT) employee died after being crushed by fork lift--Regional officer, adopting principles applicable to refusal to work, concluded no "danger" within meaning of CLC warranted issuance of directions herein--Application dismissed--Regional officer did not err in law in adopting interpretation given by Canada Labour Relations Board and by this Court of notion of "danger" in context of exercise of right of refusal within meaning of CLC, s. 128--Must be immediate, substantial and present danger and not hypothetical danger--His analysis of facts at issue in order to determine, in relation to each of directions, whether there really was danger within meaning of CLC, involved questions of mixed fact and law within range of his expertise--Applicable standard of review situated somewhere between standards of reasonableness and correctness (see Westcoast Energy Inc. v. Canada (Labour Code, Regional Safety Officer), [1995] F.C.J. No. 1534 (F.C.T.D.)--Regional officer did not err in finding even if FMT and its employees had contravened Regulatory procedures at time of safety officer's investigation, that did not make workplace dangerous within meaning of CLC--Safety officer failed to establish presence of single substantial and immediate danger within meaning of CLC, s. 145(2) although he did observe danger within general meaning of word in regard to each of directions--Regional officer did not err in deciding that CLC, s. 146(3) limited his jurisdiction and that he therefore did not have jurisdiction to convert direction issued under s. 145(2) into direction issued under s. 145(1)--Canada Labour Code, R.S.C., 1985, c. L-2, ss. 128, 145(1),(2), 146(3).