Case information

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Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Labour law - Arbitration - Statutes - Interpretation - Administrative law - Judicial review - Standard of review - Can the Adjudicator's jurisdiction in reviewing a dismissal grievance be limited by an employer who simply states that cause is not alleged, rendering access to adjudication a process without an effective remedy - If the Court of Appeal was correct in limiting the Adjudicator's jurisdiction to whether the notice period was adequate, was the Appellant public servant entitled to procedural fairness where his employment was then at pleasure - Is an adjudicator entitled to deference when interpreting his constituent statute and did the Court of Appeal thereby err in refusing to reinstate the adjudicators' awards.

The Appellant was employed in a non-union position as a Legal Officer in the Fredericton Court Services Branch of the Department of Justice and also held various statutory offices. After two and one half years of employment, Dunsmuir was terminated "without cause", and given payment in lieu of four and one half months' notice. Dunsmuir grieved his discharge in accordance with s. 100.1(2) of the Public Service Labour Relations Act, which was denied. He referred the grievance to adjudication, and in a preliminary ruling the adjudicator found that he had jurisdiction to determine whether Dunsmuir's purported discharge with notice or pay in lieu of notice was actually discharge for cause, either disciplinary or non-disciplinary. In the subsequent decision, the adjudicator found that Dunsmuir's employment was "at pleasure" and that he was not terminated for disciplinary reasons. He concluded that Dunsmuir was dismissed because of his employer's concerns "about his work performance and his suitability for the positions he held". The adjudicator decided that Dunsmuir had been denied procedural fairness and that his dismissal was void ab initio. He ordered that Dunsmuir be fully reinstated, and indicated that in the event his decision was set aside on judicial review, he would have ruled the appropriate notice period to be eight months.