Carpenters lose appeal, ordered to pay city court costs

In the latest development in a 36-year battle over restrictive tendering practices, the Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America have lost a bid to reinstate a monopoly on City of Sault Ste. Marie construction work.

The monopoly, which barred other unions from bidding on city projects, started after the city's legal counsel missed a court appearance in 1987.

It ended when the Ontario Legislature passed Bill 66 in 2019, stopping an expensive arrangement that allowed the city to accept construction bids only from companies signed with the Carpenters or the Labourers' International Union.

But the carpenters then framed a grievance under Section 133 of the Ontario Labour Relations Act, arguing that stopping the monopoly violated a right to collective bargaining contained in the federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The Ontario Labour Relations Board ruled against them on the grievance in October, 2021.

Undeterred, the unions then appealed to the Divisional Court.

By that time, the city had already spent $100,000 fighting the constitutional challenge, and city council agreed to spend as much as $100,000 more for the Divisional Court proceedings.

Mayor Matthew Shoemaker, then a Ward 3 councillor, led the political fight against the carpenters.

"You're asking for support to take this to Divisional Court at this time. You've got my support to take this to the Supreme Court if you need to," Shoemaker said earlier this year.

"We are saving an enormous amount of money under the new legislation. The old legislation was flawed. It excluded other unions from being able to bid on our work."

"This is not an anti-union position. It's an anti-monopoly position."

"If it takes an appeal on an appeal on an appeal to get a decision with some finality to it, you'll have my support the entire way," Shoemaker said.

"The Ontario Labour Relations Board heard the cases and concluded that there was no breach of Section 2(d) of the charter," said city solicitor Karen Fields in a report prepared for tonight's city council meeting.

"The applicant then brought an application for judicial review of the labour board's decisions, to the Divisional Court. The matter was heard on December 12, 2022 and the application was dismissed."

"The court held that the board was correct in concluding that there was no infringement of section 2(d) of the charter," Fields said.

Given the decision of the board, and the Divisional Court's unanimous decision, the unions will now have to decide whether to continue their challenge.

"If they choose not to, the matter is ended," Fields said.

If the carpenters opt to continue, they must now seek leave to appeal to Ontario's Court of Appeal.

Meanwhile, the Divisional Court has ordered the unions to pay $10,000 to the city and three other respondents named in the appeal, for court costs.

"Since it will be divided up amongst four respondents, the city gets $2,500 as their share of it," Fields tells SooToday.