Alberta Wheat Pool v. Canada ( Labour Relations Board )
A-1271-91
Heald J.A.
21/6/93
8 pp.
Application to set aside Canada Labour Relations Board's decision certifying respondent Union as bargaining agent in so far as relating to Agro Managers and Assistant Agro Managers -- Farm supply and services business one component of applicant's grain trade business, focus of which operation of country elevators declared under Canada Grain Act to be works for general advantage of Canada -- Products and services sold from premises adjacent to applicant's elevators and additionally from facilities designated as Agro Centres and Farm Supply Centres -- Employees providing farm supplies and services from premises adjacent to country elevators designated Agro Managers/Assistant Agro Managers -- Agro Centre and Farm Supply Centre employees and Agro Managers spending majority of time working in farm supply business -- Board excluding employees at Agro Centres and Farm Supply Centres from bargaining unit, but including Agro Managers without offering any explanation or reasons for determination -- Board holding jurisdictional issue raised by applicant (jurisdiction over employees selling farm supplies and services) irrelevant -- Application allowed -- Jurisdictional issue serious -- Appropriate test in situation of this kind set out in Northern Telecom Ltd. v. Communication Workers of Canada, [1980] 1 S.C.R. 115 -- Board should have approached evaluation of subsidiary operation from perspective of whether or not employees of subsidiary operation "vital", "essential", "integral" to federal undertaking, keeping in mind core undertaking (primary country elevators) federal undertaking -- Whether work being done by employees in question (Agro Managers) closely related to operation of core federal undertaking also germane -- Board's omission to pronounce on jurisdictional issue reviewable error -- Federal Court Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. F-7, s. 28 (as am. by S.C. 1990, c. 8, s. 8).