Memorandum of Agreement Establishing the CROA&DR

 

 

CANADIAN RAILWAY OFFICE OF ARBITRATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT made this 20th day of May 2004 to amend and renew the founding agreement establishing the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration dated the 7th day of January 1965 (as amended and renewed since that date).

IT IS AGREED by and between the signatories as follows:

1.

There shall be established in Montreal, Canada, the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, hereinafter called the "Office of Arbitration" or "CROA&DR".

2.

The administrative responsibilities for providing and administering necessary clerical staff, premises, facilities and other arrangements necessary to enable the arbitrators to exercise their function shall be discharged by an Administrative Committee (hereinafter called "the Committee") responsible to the signatories hereto. The Committee shall be composed of one representative appointed by each of the signatories whose names appear in Appendix "A" and in Appendix "B" hereof.

It is understood that the parties signatory hereto, expressly agree that nothing herein, or in the revisions agreed upon to the original Memorandum of Agreement establishing the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration rules, will be used to circumvent or prejudice established jurisprudence, collective agreement procedures, policies, practices or negotiations, etc., either now or in the future.

3.

Three arbitrators shall be appointed by the signatories hereto who shall have the duties and functions set out herein. Subject to review and replacement as seen fit by the Committee, arbitrators will be offered one or two year terms at the Committee's discretion. An arbitrator may be replaced at any time by mutual agreement of the signatories, temporarily or permanently in the event of their inability, refusal or failure to exercise their functions.

4.

Based on experience gained at the Office of Arbitration, the senior arbitrator will be designated as Chief Arbitrator. The additional arbitrators will be designated as Second Arbitrator and Third Arbitrator. In the interests of the integrity and the continuity of the Office of Arbitration, the Chief Arbitrator will act as a mentor who may be consulted by the Second and Third Arbitrators on any matter related to the performance of their duties and functions.

5.

The three arbitrators will be scheduled on a rotation basis by the Committee. New arbitrators shall be placed on the roster for two months in their first year of service and thereafter as determined by the committee.

6.

The jurisdiction of the arbitrators shall extend and be limited to the arbitration, at the instance in each case of a railway, being a signatory hereto, or of one or more of its employees represented by a bargaining agent, being a signatory hereto, of;

(A) disputes respecting the meaning or alleged violation of any one or more of the provisions of a valid and subsisting collective agreement between such railway and bargaining agent, including any claims, related to such provisions, that an employee has been unjustly disciplined or discharged; and

(B) other disputes that, under a provision of a valid and subsisting collective agreement between such railway and bargaining agent, are required to be referred to the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration & Dispute Resolution for final and binding settlement by arbitration;

but such jurisdiction shall be conditioned always upon the submission of the dispute to the Office of Arbitration in strict accordance with the terms of this agreement.

7.

A request for arbitration of a dispute shall be made by filing notice thereof with the Office of Arbitration not later than the first day of the month preceding that in which the hearing is to take place and on the same date a copy of such filed notice shall be transmitted to the other party to the grievance.

A request for arbitration respecting a dispute of the nature set forth in section (A) of clause 6 shall contain or shall be accompanied by a "Joint Statement of Issue". A request for arbitration of a dispute of the nature referred to in section (B) of clause 6 shall be accompanied by such documents as are specifically required to be submitted by the terms of the collective agreement which governs the respective dispute.

Commencing on the second Tuesday in each month, the scheduled arbitrator shall hear such disputes as have been filed in the Office of Arbitration, in accordance with the procedure set forth in this clause 7. No hearing shall be held in the month from time to time appointed for the purposes of vacation, nor shall a hearing be held in any other month unless there are awaiting such hearing at least two requests for arbitration that were filed by the eighth day of the preceding month, except that the hearing of a dispute shall not be delayed for the latter reason only for more than one month.

8.

Subject always to the provisions of this agreement and the guidelines appended hereto, the scheduled arbitrator shall make all determinations necessary for the hearing of disputes. Guidelines governing the operation of the CROA&DR may be established and/or amended from time to time as deemed necessary by the Committee.

9.

No dispute of the nature set forth in section (A) of clause 6 may be referred to arbitration until it has first been processed through the last step of the grievance procedure provided for in the applicable collective agreement. Failing final disposition under the said procedure a request for arbitration may be made but only in the manner and within the period provided for that purpose in the applicable collective agreement in effect from time to time or, if no such period is fixed in the applicable collective agreement in respect to disputes of the nature set forth in section (A) of clause 6, within the period of 60 days from the date decision was rendered in the last step of the grievance procedure.

No dispute of the nature set forth in section (B) of clause 6 may be referred to the Office of Arbitration until it has first been processed through such prior steps as are specified in the applicable collective agreement.

10.

The joint statement of issue referred to in clause 7 hereof shall contain the facts of the dispute and reference to the specific provision or provisions of the collective agreement where it is alleged that the collective agreement had been misinterpreted or violated. In the event that the parties cannot agree upon such joint statement either or each upon forty-eight (48) hours notice in writing to the other may apply to the Office of Arbitration for permission to submit a separate statement and proceed to a hearing. The scheduled arbitrator shall have the sole authority to grant or refuse such application.

11.

The arbitrator shall not decide a dispute without a hearing. At the hearing each party shall submit to the arbitrator a written statement of its position together with the evidence and argument in support thereof.

12.

The parties to a dispute submitted to the Office of Arbitration may at any hearing be represented by Counsel or otherwise as they may respectively elect.

13.

The arbitrator may make such investigation as he/she deems proper and may require that the examination of witnesses be under oath or affirmation. Each party to a dispute shall have the right to examine all witnesses called to give evidence at the hearing. The arbitrator shall not be bound by the rules of evidence and practice applicable to proceedings before courts of record but may receive, hear, request and consider any evidence which he/she may consider relevant.

14.

The decision of the arbitrator shall be limited to the disputes or questions contained in the joint statement submitted by the parties or in the separate statement or statements as the case may be, or, where the applicable collective agreement itself defines and restricts the issues, conditions or questions which may be arbitrated, to such issues, conditions or questions. The Arbitrator's decision shall be rendered in writing, together with written reasons therefor, to the parties concerned within 30 calendar days following the conclusion of the hearing unless this time is extended with the concurrence of the parties to the dispute, unless the applicable collective agreement specifically provides for a different period, in which case such different period shall prevail.

The decision of the arbitrator shall not in any case add to, subtract from, modify, rescind or disregard any provision of the applicable collective agreement.

15.

Each decision of an arbitrator which is made under the authority of this agreement shall be final and binding upon the Railway, the bargaining agent and all the employees concerned.

16.

Through the Office of Arbitration, the arbitrator shall report the decision in each case and the reasons for such decisions to all signatories hereto.

17.

The Office of Arbitration shall maintain a complete and accurate record of all disputes submitted to it and of all decisions made by an arbitrator or other dispositions respecting them, including the signed originals of all such decisions.

18.

The signatories respectively shall do all such acts and things as are necessary to enable the arbitrators to make proper findings respecting the matters in dispute and no signatory shall obstruct, delay or prevent the arbitrators from proceeding with the matter before them or from making their decision.

19.

The expenses of operating and administering the Office of Arbitration, including the fees and expenses of the arbitrators and all necessary clerical and technical assistance shall be borne one-half by the Appendix "A" signatories and one-half by the Appendix "B" signatories.

At the commencement of each year the Committee shall estimate the total expenses of maintaining the Office of Arbitration for the ensuing year and, at that time and from time to time thereafter during the year shall make interim preliminary assessments equally upon the Appendix "A" signatories and the Appendix "B" signatories sufficient to defray current expenses currently. At the end of each year the total annual expenses actually incurred shall be apportioned as set out and all necessary credits and debits shall be made accordingly.

20.

This agreement shall be reviewed on an annual basis by the signatories hereto, which review shall take place on or before the first day of July in each year. At the time of this review the appointment of the arbitrators shall be made, subject to the provisions of clauses 3, 4 and 5 hereof, and any changes or alterations shall then be implemented as may be mutually agreed upon between the signatories hereto.

21.

Any other recognized bargaining agent, acting on behalf of the employees of a railway company which is a signatory hereto and any non-signatory railway company together with some or all of the recognized bargaining agents which represent its employees may from time to time be permitted to accede to these presents and, except as provided below, to be regarded for all the purposes hereof as if signatories hereto and as if their respective names appeared in Appendix "A", in the case of railway companies, or in Appendix "B" in the case of recognized bargaining agents, as the case may be, by filing a suitable written instrument of accession and attornment at the Office of Arbitration provided, however, that the validity and operation of every such instrument shall be conditioned upon the prior concurrence and acceptance of it by all the signatories hereto as evidenced by the subscription or endorsement by each of the said instrument before it is filed.

22.

Railway Companies and recognized bargaining agents which accede to these presents, as provided for in clause 21 hereof, will not have the right or power to terminate this agreement. However any such party may, following the first anniversary of its accession and attornment withdraw from this agreement as of the 31st day of August in any year during the term hereof by giving at least 60 days" notice in writing of its intention to withdraw to the other parties (which notice shall be given by registered prepaid post) and by filing concurrently therewith a copy of such notice with the Office of Arbitration.

23.

This agreement shall commence on the first day of September, 2004 and shall remain in effect unless and until amended or terminated by the mutual agreement of the parties hereto; provided that any signatory hereto may withdraw from this agreement as of the 31st day of August in any year during the term hereof by giving at least 60 days' notice in writing of its intention to withdraw to the other parties (which notice shall be given by registered prepaid post) and by filing concurrently therewith a copy of such notice with the Office of Arbitration.

SIGNED at Montreal, Quebec, this 20th day May 2004

 

APPENDIX "A" SIGNATORIES

(Sgd) M. G. DeGirolamo
Assistant Vice-President, Industrial Relations
Canadian Pacific Railway
Calgary

(Sgd) D. S. Fisher
Director, Labour Relations
Canadian National Railway Company
Montreal

 

APPENDIX "B" SIGNATORIES

(Sgd) R. Johnston
President, National Council 4000
National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada
Montreal

(Sgd) N. Lapointe
Présidente
United Steelworkers of America (Local 1976)
Montreal

 

(Sgd) K. M. Deptuck
Vice-President
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees
Ottawa

(Sgd) J. W. Armstrong
Vice-President
United Transportation Union
Ottawa

(Sgd) G. Hallé
President
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference
Ottawa

 

 

 

APPENDIX "C"

POLICIES AND GUIDELINES

The following is a statement of the policies and guidelines of the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration & Dispute Resolution (CROA&DR) concerning the filing and scheduling of disputes for arbitration and certain hearing procedures. It is not intended as an interpretation of the Memorandum of Agreement establishing the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration & Dispute Resolution nor any other agreement between the parties. These guidelines are intended for the assistance of the parties and may be subject to the discretion of the arbitrator in any given case.

Request for Arbitration

It is the responsibility of the parties to submit requests for arbitration in accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement as well as the pertinent collective agreement. It is not the responsibility of the Office of Arbitration to poll the parties to ensure proper notice has been given to all concerned that a particular grievance has been filed.

When filing a request for arbitration, be it ex parte or jointly, the party filing the request must "on the same date" transmit a copy of such request to the other party to the grievance.

Under the law of arbitration in Canada other unions whose interest may be affected by a jurisdictional or other claim are generally entitled to notice of proceedings whose outcome may affect their rights. It is not the responsibility of the Office of Arbitration to protect the parties in respect of possible difficulties of natural justice, adjournments and/or jurisdictional review of decisions. Therefore, all requests for arbitration of grievances dealing with such issues as work ownership or union dues should include reference to the interests of other bargaining agents and, where applicable, be copied to them. The CROA&DR is also to be advised of the interest of a third party in order that proper notice of the scheduling of the arbitration may be sent to all parties.

Preliminary Objections

Preliminary objections concerning the arbitrability of a dispute should be filed as soon as possible after the dispute is submitted to the Office of Arbitration. The objection must be in writing, outlining the reasons for the objection. A copy of the objection is also to be filed with the other party to the dispute at the same time and in the same manner.

If a request for the hearing of a preliminary objection is made after the grievance is filed in the Office of Arbitration and before the matter has been scheduled for hearing, the hearing shall be solely to deal with the preliminary objection. However, if a preliminary objection is filed after a dispute has been scheduled for hearing, the hearing shall be for the purpose of dealing with both the preliminary objection and the merits of the grievance.

Postponements / Adjournments

In all but the most extraordinary of circumstances, postponements or adjournments will not be granted except with the agreement of both parties to a dispute. All requests for postponement should be made in writing, with a copy sent to the other party to the dispute.

If before, during or after the hearing of a grievance it appears to the Arbitrator that an affected third party, or parties, has, or may have, a legal interest in the outcome of the proceedings, the Arbitrator may adjourn the proceedings and direct that notice be provided to that party or parties. The affected party will be afforded the appropriate opportunity to establish its interest and, if such interest is established, to participate as an intervener, to the extent of their interest.

Scheduling

As a general principle, all disputes filed with the Office of Arbitration are scheduled on a "first-in first-out" basis. An exception to this are disputes involving termination of employment which have a priority in scheduling. As well, given the number of cases which can be on file with the CROA&DR at any given time, the scheduling of cases is also done on the basis of equitable distribution among the member organizations, and also among the various parts of each organization.

The parties to a dispute can mutually agree to request that the order of scheduling of their cases be other than the order in which they were submitted. They can also mutually request the substitution of already scheduled cases with other cases. Approval of such substitution will be dependent on available hearing time as the current method of scheduling involves a certain amount of "double booking" of time slots due to the present high level of "no shows".

Legal Counsel

When legal counsel is to be used, advice is to be given to the other party to the dispute and the Office of Arbitration as soon as possible. When notice of intent is received by both the CROA&DR and the other party before the case has been scheduled, thus giving at least one month's notice, requests for adjournments by one party to retain and instruct counsel will not be granted, absent exceptional circumstances.

Language of Arbitration

The word "language" refers only to Canada's two official languages.

It was agreed by the Committee that most members are national is scope. They have, therefore, the resources to deal with arbitration hearings in either and/or both languages. As a result, it was decided that it would be unnecessary to incur the cost of obtaining professional translation services.

While the language of an arbitration hearing is the choice of the two parties to the dispute, there are some rules which the Committee has agreed are to be followed.

When submitting a request for arbitration, the request and accompanying statement of issue (when such is required pursuant to Clause 7 of the memorandum of agreement) are to be submitted in the language in which the parties have mutually agreed the arbitration will be heard. The award will normally be issued in that language.

Should the agreed upon language be changed, by mutual consent, after submission of the request to the Office of arbitration, a translation of the previous request is to be provided to the Office prior to the hearing.

When one party anticipates that a potential witness, or witnesses, will give evidence on its behalf in the other language, that party will notify the other as soon as possible after the hearing date is set, but no later than 48 hours prior to the hearing. For example, if the dispute is to be heard in French and a witness will testify in English, the party calling the witness will so inform the other party.

Inasmuch as the arbitrator sits as a neutral third party at an arbitration hearing, and is not a party to the dispute, it is not appropriate for either party to expect him, or her, to provide translation services.

Audio-Visual Equipment

Any party requiring audio-visual equipment at a hearing is responsible for advising the General Secretary that such equipment will be required and for providing their own equipment. Should assistance be required in this matter, the General Secretary will arrange to have such equipment made available with the cost of renting such equipment to be borne by the requesting party.

 

 

APPENDIX "D"

INFORMAL EXPEDITED HEARING PROCESS

WHEREAS the members of the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration & Dispute Resolution are desirous of making the most efficient use of scheduled hearing dates and

WHEREAS the ability to occasionally schedule or substitute cases on short notice for more informal hearings will assist the efficiency of the grievance and arbitration process

It is hereby agreed as follows:

1.

Notwithstanding the procedural requirements of the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration & Dispute Resolution (CROA&DR), and the normal practice of using written briefs in the presentation of cases, the parties may, by mutual agreement, submit grievances to be heard more informally and on short notice, to be referred to as "informal expedited cases".

2.

Informal expedited cases may be placed on the docket of the CROA&DR at any time prior to the hearing by leave of the scheduled arbitrator, in substitution of other cases between the same parties, or between other parties, where the originally scheduled case or cases have been withdrawn or adjourned.

3.

Informal expedited cases may also be scheduled in advance, in accordance with the normal CROA&DR scheduling process, where the parties so agree. Either party may withdraw from the process up to the commencement of the hearing.

4.

Subject to any other agreement of the parties, informal expedited cases shall require no prior documentation, save that a joint statement of issue, or an ex parte statement by mutual agreement, shall be filed with the arbitrator no later than the commencement of the hearing.

5.

At the hearing the positions of the parties shall be presented orally. Written briefs need not be utilized in the presentation of informal expedited cases. The parties may submit such documents, records or other evidence as they deem appropriate, subject to the normal rules of admissibility, the Canada Labour Code and the jurisdiction and discretion of the arbitrator as provided in clauses 13 and 14 of the Memorandum of Agreement establishing the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration & Dispute Resolution.

6.

Awards shall not be precedential for the purposes of any future case. Expedited awards shall not be quoted or otherwise cited at the presentation of any case before the CROA&DR, and shall not be reported, except to the parties, save as required by the Canada Labour Code. Written reasons for awards shall be provided only to the parties to the grievance.

7.

Where, at any time during the filing or presentation of a case under this process, it appears to the arbitrator, after consultation with the parties, that the case is not appropriate for proper hearing and disposition under this process, and should be heard through the normal CROA&DR procedures, he or she may refer the matter back to the parties to be progressed in accordance with the normal rules of the Memorandum of Agreement establishing the CROA&DR.

8.

Expedited cases handled under this process will be kept in CROA&DR office for legal purposes although no CROA&DR case number will be assigned to them. The numbering of these files will be for internal purposes only, and is not to form part of the written award issued to the parties. The number of cases handled under this process will be included in the report of the number of cases handled each year.

9.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the parties, may, by mutual agreement, request that mediation be involved in the Informal Expedited Process. The scheduled Arbitrator may, at her (or his) sole discretion, mediate the dispute in advance of the Informal Expedited Hearing. The parties must clearly advise CROA&DR of their intent to utilize mediation as part of the process when scheduling the case.

SIGNED at Montreal, Quebec, this 20th day of May, 2004

 

(Sgd) M. G. DeGirolamo
Assistant Vice-President, Industrial Relations
Canadian Pacific Railway
Calgary

(Sgd) D. S. Fisher
Director, Labour Relations
Canadian National Railway Company
Montreal

(Sgd) R. Johnston
President, National Council 4000
National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada
Montreal

(Sgd) N. Lapointe
Présidente
United Steelworkers of America (Local 1976)
Montreal

 

(Sgd) K. M. Deptuck
Vice-President
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees
Ottawa

(Sgd) J. W. Armstrong
Vice-President
United Transportation Union
Ottawa

(Sgd) G. Hallé
President
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference
Ottawa

 

 

 

APPENDIX "E"

ADJUDICATION BY WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS

Adjudication may be conducted using written submissions and without formal attendance at the hearing. This process requires mutual agreement, and cannot be used for discharge cases. It is intended to be used for simple discipline and work rule disputes. Conditions include an agreed upon joint statement of issue, and the mutual desire to proceed without a appearing in front of an arbitrator.

The agreement to proceed using written submissions must be communicated to the General Secretary at the time of submission of the joint statement of issue under clause 7. Along with the joint statement of issue, the parties shall attach the grievance exchanges and a copy of the formal investigation statement and associated evidence which was submitted at the hearing/ investigation.

Written submissions must be exchanged between the parties within 5 working days of the joint statement of issue (and statement, grievance and replies) being submitted, with a copy of the submissions to the General Secretary. If this condition is not met, the dispute, as outlined in the joint statement of issue, will be scheduled normally at the next opportunity on the docket following the month where it was originally intended for written submissions. Written submissions must be limited to 5 single sided, 8.5 by 11 single-spaced in number 12 font.

Written rebuttals shall be permitted, but limited to 2 pages single sided, 8.5 by 11 paper single spaced in number 12 font. Written rebuttal must be provided to the other party and filed with the General Secretary no later than the Friday preceding the scheduled arbitration week. Only one written rebuttal is permitted for each party to the dispute.

Decisions will be issued in writing, numbered, and will be have all effects and shall be binding as is any other award from the arbitrator(s).

SIGNED at Montreal, Quebec, this 20th day of May, 2004

 

(Sgd) M. G. DeGirolamo
Assistant Vice-President, Industrial Relations
Canadian Pacific Railway
Calgary

(Sgd) D. S. Fisher
Director, Labour Relations
Canadian National Railway Company
Montreal

(Sgd) R. Johnston
President, National Council 4000
National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada
Montreal

(Sgd) N. Lapointe
Présidente
United Steelworkers of America (Local 1976)
Montreal

 

(Sgd) K. M. Deptuck
Vice-President
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees
Ottawa

(Sgd) J. W. Armstrong
Vice-President
United Transportation Union
Ottawa

(Sgd) G. Hallé
President, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference
Ottawa

 

 

 

 

LETTER RE EX PARTE STATEMENTS OF ISSUE

 

While this letter does not form part of the memorandum of agreement establishing the CROA&DR, in does reflect the intention of the parties to the agreement vis-à-vis the interpretation of clause 10 of the memorandum and was faxed to the arbitrators on December 1, 2004.

A copy of this letter was faxed to all company and union officers who deal directly with the CORA&DR on May 11, 2005.

 

Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration & Dispute Resolution
Bureau d'Arbitrage et de Médiation des Chemins de Fer du Canada

Room 234 - Windsor Station
1100 rue de La Gauchetière Ouest

(514) 866-9005
Arbitrators - les Arbitres
Michel G. Picher
John Moreau, Q.C.
Brian Keller

Montréal (Québec) H3B 2S2

(fax) 866-5591
Secrétaire générale
Colette Newton
General Secretary
croa101@sympatico.ca

1 December 2004

Michel G. Picher - Chief Arbitrator
Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration & Dispute Resolution
1100 rue de La Gauchetière ouest
Montreal, QC, H3B 2S2

Dear Mr. Picher;

During the course of its meetings held to revise and amend what has become the Memorandum of Agreement Establishing the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, dated May 20, 2004, the Administrative Committee of the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration identified what it views as a trend in the processing of grievances to the CROA which is becoming of serious concern.

As you are aware, traditionally in the CROA the principal means of proceeding before the Arbitrator has, historically, been by the filing of a joint statement of issue. The obligation to engage in the negotiation of a joint statement has, for many years, compelled the parties to cooperate in the identifying of issues to be presented to the Arbitrator, thereby avoiding allegations of surprise and the related risk of adjournments and delay. In recent years, for reasons attributable to both sides, there has been greater and greater recourse to the filing of ex parte statements, substantially occasioned by what the Committee views as an increasing tendency on the part of both sides to fail to make good faith efforts to conclude a joint statement of issue in a timely fashion.

In the result, in many relationships within the CROA&DR the use of ex parte statements has become the rule rather than the exception, contrary to what was originally intended in the memorandum of agreement establishing the CROA. On more than one occasion this has caused conflict between the parties with respect to timeliness and requests for adjournments. More fundamentally, a sustained departure from good faith efforts at fashioning a joint statement of issue has meant a departure from the positive influence of a long standing procedure that involved conciliatory and cooperative efforts between the parties as they proceed toward the hearing.

The Committee notes that the ability to file an ex parte statement of issue is not, under the memorandum of agreement establishing the CROA, a matter of right. Clause 8 of the memorandum (now clause 10 in the new CROA&DR memorandum of agreement) provides that, "In the event that the parties cannot agree upon such joint statement either or each ... may apply to the Arbitrator for permission to submit a separate statement and proceed to a hearing. The Arbitrator shall have the sole authority to grant or refuse such application."

We ask the Arbitrator to take cognizance of the foregoing provision and, with a view to compelling the members of the CROA&DR to follow the spirit of cooperation contemplated in the memorandum, to instruct the General Secretary that ex parte statements of issue are not to be processed automatically, but are to be referred to the Arbitrator on a case by case basis for approval. It is the view of the Committee that the Arbitrator's approval to proceed on the basis of an ex parte statement of issue should be granted where the party seeking leave to file an ex parte statement can demonstrate that it made all reasonable and timely efforts to reach an agreement with the opposite party in the drafting of a joint statement of issue. Where it appears that such efforts were not made, the Committee would urge the Arbitrator to consider exercising the discretion not to allow an ex parte statement of issue to be filed, in keeping with the original intention of the memorandum.

Respectfully submitted

 

(Sgd.) D. S. Fisher
Director, Labour Relations
Canadian National Railway Company
Montreal

(Sgd) M. G. DeGirolamo
Assistant Vice-President, Industrial Relations
Canadian Pacific Railway
Calgary

(Sgd) R. Johnston
President, National Council 4000
National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada
Montreal

(Sgd) N. Lapointe
Présidente
United Steelworkers of America (Local 1976)
Montreal

 

Sgd) G. Hallé
President, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference
Ottawa

(Sgd) J. W. Armstrong
Vice-President
United Transportation Union
Ottawa

(Sgd) K. M. Deptuck
National Advisor
Teamsters Canada/BMWE
Ottawa

 

cc: All Company and Union officers with responsibility for the filing of disputes with the CROA/CROA&DR

cc: M. Brian Keller - Arbitrator

cc: John Moreau, Q.C. - Arbitrator