Debien v. Canada ( Unemployment Insurance Commission )
A-814-91
Marceau J.A.
8/2/93
12 pp.
Application to set aside decision of Umpire acting pursuant to Unemployment Insurance Act, s. 31 -- Question of determining, in circumstances, time at which applicant claimants ceased to be ineligible for benefits -- Following deadlock over conclusion of initial collective agreement between Syndicat des employés professionnels et de bureau and Caisse d'économie des policiers de la Communauté urbaine de Montréal, union executive ordered strike on October 23, 1987 and 25 employees who were members of bargaining unit, including applicants, left employment -- On July 6 following, arbitrator hearing dispute decided to himself determine content of collective agreement -- Strike legally ended on July 6, 1988, but 17 of 25 employees refused to return to work -- As applicants persisted in not returning to work, employer on August 8 sent each one letter of dismissal -- Unemployment Insurance Commission found applicants not eligible for benefits since had lost employment as a result of work stoppage attributable to labour dispute -- Board of referees held ineligibility ended on August 8, 1988, date of applicants' dismissal -- Umpire [bk]reversed decision of board of referees and restored that of Commission which found applicants still ineligible for benefits -- End of labour dispute does not necessarily mean end of work stoppage within meaning of Act, s. 31(1)(a) -- Circumstances of particular case and intent of parties must be taken into account -- Whether in case before Court massive dismissal of August 8 sufficed to constitute prevailing new cause of applicants' unemployment -- It could not be said work stoppage remained dependent directly and exclusively on labour dispute -- Board of referees properly concluded: for applicants, work stoppage attributable to labour dispute, and so ineligibility for benefits, ended on August 8, 1988 -- Application allowed -- Unemployment Insurance Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. U-1, s. 31(1) (am. by S.C. 1990, c. 40, s. 23).[ek]