Labour Relations 2021


Course Date: October 8, 2021

Full Course Materials
Total: 4h 42min
Total Ethics: 2h 24min
Course Agenda ▼

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:05)

Sandra I. Banister, QC — Banister & Company, Vancouver
Clayton A. Jones — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver

Labour Board Update and Cases Arising from the 2019 Amendments to the Code (9:05 – 10:35)

  • update on the Board's pandemic response
  • policy update arising out of the 2019 Code amendments
  • operational update (Board processes, budget, etc.)

Jacquie de Aguayo — Chair, BC Labour Relations Board and BC Employment Standards Tribunal, Vancouver
Jennifer Glougie — Associate Chair, BC Labour Relations Board, Vancouver

BREAK (10:35 – 10:45)

Organizing in the "New" Gig Economy: While We Have New Ways to Get Around and Have Dinner Delivered, Do Digital Platforms Change the Rules on Access to Collective Bargaining? (10:45 – 11:45)

  • lots of people are talking about it, but what is the gig economy and gig workers?
  • are gig workers a new category of independent contractors or are they employees in disguise?
  • how does the Charter right of access to collective bargaining apply to gig workers?
  • how have gig workers been viewed in other jurisdictions, rest of Canada, US, and UK, and will that impact how they are viewed in BC?
  • what might be some challenges for gig workers to access collective bargaining
  • how has government addressed the concerns for gig employer and workers? will there be a special class of employment for gig workers (e.g., Flexible Work+)?

Chris G. Buchanan — Hastings Labour Law Office LLP, Vancouver
Marcia D. McNeil — Pulver Crawford Munroe LLP, Victoria

LUNCH BREAK (11:45 – 12:45)

Preliminary Issues in Arbitration and Mandatory Case Management Conferences (12:45 – 1:45)

Israel Chafetz, QC — Harris & Company LLP, Vancouver
Richard L. Edgar — Moore Edgar Lyster LLP, Vancouver
Andrew C.L. Sims, QC — Arbitrator and Mediator, The Sims Group, Edmonton

BREAK (1:45 – 1:55)

Labour Law Update (1:55 – 3:25) 

  • the Charter and Labour Relations
  • human rights
  • judicial review
  • Labour Relations Board
  • arbitration awards

Michael Hamata — Roper Greyell LLP, Vancouver
Emily Luther — BC Government and Service Employees' Union, Burnaby

Closing Remarks (3:25 – 3:30)

Sandra I. Banister, QC — Banister & Company, Vancouver
Clayton A. Jones — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver