Date: 20051107
Docket: A-636-04
Citation: 2005 FCA 366
CORAM: NOËL J.A.
SEXTON J.A.
MALONE J.A.
BETWEEN:
PUBLIC SERVICE ALLIANCE OF CANADA
Applicant
and
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN RIGHT OF CANADA AS REPRESENTED BY
CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY
Respondent
Heard at Ottawa, Ontario, on November 1, 2005.
Judgment delivered at Ottawa, Ontario, on November 7, 2005.
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT BY: NOËL J.A.
CONCURRED IN BY: SEXTON J.A.
MALONE J.A.
Date: 20051107
Docket: A-636-04
Citation: 2005 FCA 366
CORAM: NOËL J.A.
SEXTON J.A.
MALONE J.A.
BETWEEN:
PUBLIC SERVICE ALLIANCE OF CANADA
Applicant
and
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN RIGHT OF CANADA AS REPRESENTED BY
CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY
Respondent
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
NOËL J.A.
[1] This is a judicial review application directed against a decision by the Public Service Staff Relations Board ("PSSRB") dated October 29, 2004, disposing of a reference filed by the Public Service Alliance of Canada ("PSAC" or "applicant") pursuant to Section 99 of the Public Service Staff Relations Act ("PSSRA").
Background
[2] In disposing of this reference, the PSSRB denied the applicant's submission that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ("CFIA") breached its obligations under the workforce adjustment provisions of the Employment Transition Policy ("ETP"), which forms part of the PSAC-CFIA Collective Agreement (as Appendix B) and provides that the CFIA must consult with the PSAC where work within the CFIA is eliminated or transferred.
[3] In the written submissions filed in support of the application, the applicant reiterates two arguments: that the PSSRB erred in concluding that the provisions of the ETP were not triggered by the decision to transfer the CFIA employees to the Canada Border Services Agency ("CBSA") by Order-in-Council dated December 12, 2003; and that the Transfer of Portions of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Regulations ("Transfer Regulations") are intra vires.
Facts
[4] The parties proceeded before the PSSRB on the basis of an agreed statement of facts,
which is reproduced in its entirety at paragraph 3 of the PSSRB decision and which needs not be repeated. It is sufficient for present purposes to outline the following summary.
[5] Following the creation of the CBSA as part of the newly created Public Safety and
Emergency Preparedness Department, various government services were reorganized (PSSRB Decision, paragraph 9, page 21). In particular, specified functions carried out by about 90 employees would no longer be performed by the CFIA, a "separate employer", but would be transferred to the CBSA, a portion of the Public Service for which the Treasury Board is the "employer".
[6] Effective December 12, 2003, by Order-in-Council 2003-2065, SI/2003-217 and
pursuant to the Public Service Rearrangement and Transfer of Duties Act ("PSRTDA"), certain portions of the Operations Branch of the CFIA were transferred to the CBSA. Also effected were the Transfer Regulations, under the authority of paragraph 36(1)(b) of the PSEA, which deemed the transfer of affected CFIA employees to the CBSA to be subject to the block transfer provisions set out in subsections 37.3(1) and (2) of the PSEA.
[7] On December 12, 2003, affected CFIA employees were sent an email from the President
of the CFIA notifying them of the creation of the CBSA, the consolidation of border defence services, and the immediate transfer of approximately 90 positions. As a result, some 90 indeterminate and term CFIA employees ceased to be employees of the CFIA and became employees of Treasury Board.
[8] While some of the affected CFIA employees filed grievances under the ETP, PSAC filed
a reference pursuant to Section 99 of the PSSRA on December 23, 2003, alleging that CFIA "has failed to observe or carry out certain obligations contained in the [ETP], which is found at Appendix B of the collective agreement entered into between the parties on July 6, 2001". PSAC also contended that the Transfer Regulations pursuant to which the "block transfer" provisions of the PSEA were made applicable are ultra vires.
PSSRB Decision
[9] After setting out the written submissions of the parties in their entirety, the PSSRB disposed of the reference in five short paragraphs. With respect to the argument that the ETP had been triggered, the PSSRB found as a threshold issue that the decision to transfer the CFIA employees to the CBSA was not a decision made by the President of the CFIA. The PSSRB said:
[11] The provisions of the ETP are clear and unambiguous. An employment transition situation occurs "when the President decided that the services of one or more indeterminate employees will no longer be required beyond a specified date because of a lack of work or the discontinuance of a function within the Agency".
[12] The decision to transfer positions from the CFIA to the CBSA was made by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada [...].
[13] The fact that the President of the CFIA may have been involved in discussions surrounding the implementation of the Order-in-Council does not negate the fact that the decision to transfer was not his in the first place. I agree with the employer when it states that: "Applying the Order-in-Council and identifying employees to be transferred as a result of it is not a "decision" by the President that services are no longer required".
[10] With respect to the alleged invalidity of the Transfer Regulations, the PSSRB held that they were authorized by paragraph 36(1)(b) of the PSEA:
[14] With respect to the vires of the regulation purporting to make applicable the "block transfer" provisions of the Public Service Employment Act to the facts of this case [...], I find nothing in the documentation provided that would allow me to come to the conclusion that the regulation is ultra vires.
[15] Paragraph 36(1)(b) of the PSEA clearly authorizes the Governor in Council to make regulations "applying all or any of the provisions of the PSEA that do not otherwise apply (...) to any portion or part of any portion of the Public Service", which by definition includes all Departments and portions of the public service of Canada specified in Parts I and II of Schedule I to the PSSRA. I agree with the employer that the words "notwithstanding any other Act" in paragraph 36(1)(b) of the PSEA "are simply a legislative method to ensure that a regulation passed under 36(1)(b) cannot be challenged as being ultra vires another Act".
[11] The PSSRB went on to deny the reference. This is the decision against which the judicial review application is directed.
Error Alleged in Decision Under Review
[12] The applicant indicated in open Court that it no longer challenges that aspect of the decision holding that the Transfer Regulations are intra vires. The applicant maintains, however, that the PSSRB erred in holding that an "employment transition" did not occur when the CFIA employees were transferred.
Relevant Statutory and Regulatory Provisions
[13] The following provisions of the PSSRA, R.S. 1985, c. P-35, address the enforcement of
obligations of employer and employee organizations:
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Definitions
2.(1) In this Act,
[...]
"employer" « employeur »
"employer" means Her Majesty in right of Canada as represented by,
(a) in the case of any portion of the public service of Canada specified in Part I of Schedule I, the Treasury Board, and
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Définitions
2.(1) Les définitions qui suivent s'appliquent à la présente loi.
[...]
« employeur » "employer"
« employeur » Sa Majesté du chef du Canada représentée_:
a) par le Conseil du Trésor, dans le cas d'un secteur de l'administration publique fédérale spécifié à la partie I de l'annexe I;
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(b) in the case of any portion of the public service of Canada specified in Part II of Schedule I, the separate employer concerned;
[...]
"Public Service" « fonction publique »
"Public Service" means the several positions in or under any department or other portion of the public service of Canada specified in Schedule I;
[...]
"separate employer" « employeur distinct »
"separate employer" means any portion of the public service of Canada specified in Part II of Schedule I;
[...]
Application to Public Service
3. This Act applies to all portions of the Public Service. R.S., c. P-35, s. 3.
[...]
SCHEDULE I
(Section 2)
PART I
Departments and other portions of the public service of Canada in respect of which Her Majesty as represented by the Treasury Board is the employer
[...]
Canada Border Services Agency
Agence des services frontaliers du Canada
[...]
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b) par l'employeur distinct en cause, dans le cas d'un secteur de l'administration publique fédérale spécifié à la partie II de l'annexe I.
« employeur distinct » "separate employer"
« employeur distinct » Secteur de l'administration publique fédérale spécifié à la partie II de l'annexe I.
« fonction publique » "Public Service"
« fonction publique » Ensemble des postes qui sont compris dans les ministères ou autres secteurs de l'administration publique fédérale spécifiés à l'annexe I, ou qui en relèvent.
[...]
Application à la fonction publique
3. La présente loi s'applique à tous les secteurs de la fonction publique. S.R., ch. P-35, art. 3.
[...]
ANNEXE I
(article 2)
PARTIE I
Ministères et autres secteurs de l'administration publique fédérale pour lesquels Sa Majesté, représentée par le Conseil du Trésor, est l'employeur
[...]
Agence des services frontaliers du Canada
Canada Border Services Agency
[...]
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PART II
Portions of the public service of Canada that are separate employers
[...]
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Agence canadienne d'inspection des aliments
[...]
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PARTIE II
Secteurs de l'administration publique fédérale qui sont des employeurs distincts
[...]
Agence canadienne d'inspection des aliments
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
[...]
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[Emphasis added.]
[14] The following provisions of the Public Service Employment Act ("PSEA"), R.S. 1985,
c. P-33, address regulations by Governor-in-Council and block transfers:
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Definitions
2.(1) In this Act,
[...]
"Public Service" « fonction publique »
"Public Service" has the same meaning as in the Public Service Staff Relations Act.
[...]
PART IV - GENERAL
Regulations
35(1) Regulations by Commission
[...]
Regulations by Governor in Council
36.(1) The Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) applying all or any of the provisions of this Act to all or any of the positions of persons mentioned in subsection 39(1);
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Définitions
2.(1) Les définitions qui suivent s'appliquent à la présente loi.
[...]
« fonction publique » "Public Service"
« fonction publique » S'entend au sens de la Loi sur les relations de travail dans la fonction publique.
[...]
PARTIE IV - DISPOSITIONS GÉNÉRALES
Règlements
35(1) Règlements de la Commission
[...]
36(1) Règlements pris par le gouverneur en conseil
36.(1) Le gouverneur en conseil peut, par règlement_:
a) étendre la portée de tout ou partie de la présente loi à la totalité ou une partie des postes occupés par les
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(b) notwithstanding any other Act, applying all or any of the provisions of this Act that do not otherwise apply, including the provisions relating to appointments, to any portion or part of any portion of the Public Service; and
(c) prescribing the manner in which inquiries shall be instituted and conducted for the purposes of section 34.
36(2) Idem
(2) Where a regulation made pursuant to paragraph (1)(b) provides for a matter for which provision is made in or under any other Act, the other Act, during the time that the regulation is in force, is deemed to make no provision for that matter either therein or thereunder. R.S., c. P-32, s. 34.
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personnes mentionnées au paragraphe 39(1);
b) nonobstant toute autre loi, étendre la portée de tout ou partie des dispositions de la présente loi, notamment de celles qui ont trait aux nominations, à tout secteur de la fonction publique - ou partie de celui-ci - où ces dispositions ne sont normalement pas applicables;
c) fixer les modalités d'ouverture et de conduite des enquêtes visées par l'article 34.
36(2) Primauté des règlements
(2) Un règlement pris en vertu de l'alinéa (1)b) a primauté sur les autres dispositions législatives et réglementaires régissant les questions dont il traite.
S.R., ch. P-32, art. 34.
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Block Transfers
Deemed transfer of employees
37.3 (1) Nothing in an order made under the Public Service Rearrangement and Transfer of Duties Act shall be construed as affecting the status of an employee who, immediately before the coming into force of the order, occupied a position in a portion of the Public Service the control or supervision of which has been transferred from one department or portion of the Public Service to another, or in a department that has been amalgamated and combined, except that the employee shall, on the coming into force of the order, occupy that position in the department or portion of the Public Service to which the control or supervision has been transferred or in the department as amalgamated and combined.
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Transferts en bloc
Présomption de transfert de fonctionnaires
37.3 (1) Les décrets pris en application de la Loi sur les restructurations et les transferts d'attributions dans l'administration publique ne changent rien à la situation des fonctionnaires qui, à l'entrée en vigueur de ces décrets, occupaient un poste dans le secteur dont la responsabilité a été transférée d'un ministère ou secteur de l'administration publique à un autre ou dans l'un ou l'autre des ministères qui ont été regroupés à la différence près que, à compter de cette entrée en vigueur, ils occupent le poste dans le secteur ou ministère auquel la responsabilité a été transférée ou dans le ministère qui résulte du regroupement, selon le cas.
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37.3(2) Transfer of other staff
(2) Where an order is made under the Public Service Rearrangement and Transfer of Duties Act, the Governor in Council may, by order made on the recommendation of the Treasury Board and where the Governor in Council is of the opinion that an employee or class of employees is carrying out powers, duties or functions that are in whole or in part in support of or related to the powers, duties and functions of employees referred to in subsection (1) and that it is in the best interests of the Public Service to do so, declare that the employee or class of employees shall, on the coming into force of the order, occupy their positions in the department or portion of the Public Service where the employees referred to in subsection (1) are currently occupying their positions.
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37.3(2) Transfert par décret
(2) Dans les cas de décrets pris en application de la Loi sur les restructurations et les transferts d'attributions dans l'administration publique, le gouverneur en conseil, s'il estime que la mesure sert les intérêts de l'administration publique, peut, par décret pris sur la recommandation du Conseil du Trésor, prévoir que des fonctionnaires ou catégories de fonctionnaires qui, à son avis, exercent, en tout ou en partie, des attributions liées à celles des fonctionnaires visés au paragraphe (1) ou des attributions auxiliaires, occuperont, à compter de l'entrée en vigueur du décret, leur poste dans le même ministère ou secteur que les fonctionnaires visés au paragraphe (1).
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37.3(3) Definition of "Public Service"
(3) In this section, "Public Service" means the departments and other portions of the public service of Canada specified in Part I of Schedule I to the Public Service Staff Relations Act.
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37.3(3) Définition de « _administration publique_ »
(3) Au présent article, « _administration publique_ » s'entend des ministères et autres secteurs de l'administration publique fédérale figurant à la partie I de l'annexe I de la Loi sur les relations de travail dans la fonction publique.
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[Emphasis added.]
[15] Enabled by the PSEA, the following provisions of the Transfer Regulations,
SOR/2003-430, provide for the transfer that is subject to the present proceedings:
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Transfer of Portions of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Regulations
P.C. 2003-2058 12 December, 2003
Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, pursuant to paragraph 36(1)(b) of the Public Service Employment Act, hereby makes the annexed Transfer of Portions of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Regulations.
TRANSFER OF PORTIONS OF THE CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY REGULATIONS
BLOCK TRANSFER
1. Subsections 37.3(1) and (2) of the Public Service Employment Act apply to all persons employed or engaged in the Public Service within the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in those portions of the Operations Branch that provide passenger and initial import inspection services performed at airports and other Canadian border points other than import service centres.
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Règlement sur le transfert de secteurs de l'Agence canadienne d'inspection des aliments
C.P. 2003-2058 12 décembre 2003
Sur recommandation du premier ministre et en vertu de l'alinéa 36(1)b) de la Loi sur l'emploi dans la fonction publique, Son Excellence la Gouverneure générale en conseil prend le Règlement sur le transfert de secteurs de l'Agence canadienne d'inspection des aliments, ci-après.
RÈGLEMENT SUR LE TRANSFERT DE SECTEURS DE L'AGENCE CANADIENNE D'INSPECTION DES ALIMENTS
TRANSFERT EN BLOC
1. Les paragraphes 37.3(1) et (2) de la Loi sur l'emploi dans la fonction publique s'appliquent aux personnes employées ou engagées dans les secteurs de l'administration publique au sein de la Direction générale des opérations de l'Agence canadienne d'inspection des aliments qui assurent des services d'inspection de première ligne des voyageurs et des produits importés dans les aéroports et aux autres postes frontaliers canadiens, à l'exclusion des centres de service à l'importation.
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COMING INTO FORCE
2. These Regulations come into force on December 12, 2003.
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ENTRÉE EN VIGUEUR
2. Le présent règlement entre en vigueur le 12 décembre 2003.
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[Emphasis added.]
[16] The following provisions of the Public Service Rearrangement and Transfer of Duties
Act ("PSRTDA"), R.S., c. P-34, are also relevant:
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TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS AND AMALGAMATION OF DEPARTMENTS
Transferring functions and combining departments
2. The Governor in Council may
(a) transfer any powers, duties or functions or the control or supervision of any portion of the public service from one minister to another, or from one department or portion of the public service to another; or
(b) amalgamate and combine any two or more departments under one minister and under one deputy minister. R.S., c. P-34, s. 2.
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REMANIEMENTS ET RESTRUCTURATIONS
Transferts d'attributions et regroupements de ministères
2. Le gouverneur en conseil peut procéder_:
a) à tout transfert d'attributions, ou de responsabilité à l'égard d'un secteur de l'administration publique, entre ministres ou entre ministères ou secteurs de l'administration publique;
b) au regroupement de deux ministères ou plus sous l'autorité d'un seul ministre et d'un seul sous-ministre.
S.R., ch. P-34, art. 2.
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[17] Enabled by the PSRTDA, the following provisions are relevant with respect to the Order
Transferring Certain Portions of the Operations Branch of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to the Canada Border Services Agency ("Order"), P.C. 2003-2065 of December 12, 2003:
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Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, pursuant to paragraph 2(a) of the Public Service Rearrangement and Transfer of Duties Act, hereby transfers to the Canada Border Services Agency, effective December 12, 2003, the control and supervision of the portions of the public service within the Operations Branch of the Canadian Food
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Sur recommandation du premier ministre et en vertu de l'alinéa 2a) de la Loi sur les restructurations et les transferts d'attributions dans l'administration publique, Son Excellence la Gouverneure générale en conseil transfère à l'Agence des services frontaliers du Canada la responsabilité à l'égard des secteurs de l'administration publique au sein de la Direction générale des opérations de
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Inspection Agency that provide passenger and initial import inspection services performed at airports and other Canadian border points other than import service centres.
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l'Agence canadienne d'inspection des aliments qui assurent des services d'inspection de première ligne des voyageurs et des produits importés dans les aéroports et aux autres postes frontaliers canadiens, à l'exclusion des centres de service à l'importation.
Cette mesure prend effet le 12 décembre 2003.
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Analysis and Decision
[18] It is generally accepted that the interpretation and application of a collective agreement, including references under the PSSRA alleging its violation fall within the purview of the PSSRB's expertise and call for the highest degree of deference known as patent unreasonableness (see for instance, Barry v. Treasury Board (1997), 221 N.R. 237 (F.C.A.); Connors v. Canada (Revenue - Taxation), [2002] F.C.J. No. 477 (T.D.), (Q.L.); Attorney General of Canada v. Social Science Employees Assn. et al. 240 D.L.R. (4th) 335; White v. Canada (Treasury Board), 2004 FC 1017).
[19] However, the applicant contends that the decisions of the Supreme Court in Voice Construction Ltd. v. Construction & General Workers' Union, Local 92, [2004] 1 S.C.R. 609 and Alberta Union of Provincial Employees v. Lethbridge Community College, [2004] 1 S.C.R. 727 have altered the standard of review applicable in labour disputes. According to the applicant, these decisions stand for the general proposition that the interpretation or application of collective agreements in the context of labour disputes no longer call for the highest degree of deference. I do not believe that to be the case.
[20] The two decisions relied upon have not been construed as the applicant suggests. Indeed, the Ontario Court of Appeal specifically refused to adopt the approach proposed by the applicant in Lakeport Beverages v. Teamsters Local Union 938 (2005), as did the Federal Court in Currie et al. v. the Queen (CCRA), 2005 F.C. 733. I am aware of no decision in which the pronouncement of the Supreme Court in Voice Construction and in Lethbridge Community College has been applied as the applicant proposes.
[21] In addition, unlike the arbitrator in the Voice Construction decision, the Chairperson of the PSSRB is not an ad hoc adjudicator appointed by the parties. The PSSRB is a statutory tribunal created by Parliament by virtue of the PSSRA. In my view, this institutional expertise favours a more deferential standard of review, which is in stark contrast to the nature of the standard applied in Voice Construction.
[22] Furthermore, the question of whether the provisions of the collective agreement were triggered on the facts of this case is one of mixed fact and law. This again distinguishes the present application from the issue which arose in Voice Construction.
[23] That said, I am of the view that regardless of the standard, the PSSRB had the discretion to hold that the ETP was not triggered when employees of the CFIA were transferred to the CBSA. As the applicant itself recognizes, the primary purpose of the ETP is to minimize the impact of job loss. In this case, no employee lost his or her job as a result of the Order-in-Council as all affected employees were deemed to be employees of the CBSA as of December 12, 2003 (ETP, Applicant's Record, Volume I, Tab 2, at page 105).
[24] More significantly, an "employment transition" is defined in the collective agreement's ETP as:
a situation that occurs when the President decides that the services of one or more indeterminate employees will no longer be required beyond a specified date because of a lack of work or the discontinuance of a function within the Agency. Such situations may arise for reasons including but not limited to those identified in the Policy section above. [Emphasis added.]
[25] In this case, the President of the CFIA did not decide. The decision to consolidate various government functions under the authority of the CBSA was made by the Governor-in-Council under the authority of the PSRTDA.
[26] Counsel for the applicant agreed that the effect of the Order-in-Council was to transfer functions, but argued that the President was the one who decided which persons were affected. With respect, the effect of the Order-in-Council was to transfer each person occupying the function identified by the Order-in-Council, and the President merely gave effect to that decision.
[27] The Block Transfer provisions of the PSEA are explicit in stating that an Order made pursuant to the PSRTDA shall not affect the status of an employee, other than the fact that the employee shall be deemed to occupy the position in the new department. It follows that the PSSRB was on solid ground when it held as a threshold issue that the circumstances did not meet the definition of "employment transition" as found in the ETP.
[28] I would dismiss the application with costs in favour of the respondent.
"Marc Noël"
J.A.
"I agree.
J. Edgar Sexton, J.A."
"I agree.
B. Malone, J.A."
FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
DOCKET: A-636-04
STYLE OF CAUSE: PUBLIC SERVICE ALLIANCE OF CANADA v. HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN RIGHT OF CANADA AS REPRESENTED BY CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY
PLACE OF HEARING: OTTAWA, ONTARIO
DATE OF HEARING: NOVEMBER 1, 2005
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT: NOËL J.A.
CONCURRED IN BY: SEXTON J.A.
MALONE J.A.
DATED: NOVEMBER 7, 2005
APPEARANCES:
Mr. Andrew Raven FOR THE APPELLANT
Ms. Suzanne Brandon
Mr. Neil McGraw FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Raven, Allen, Cameron, Ballantyne, FOR THE APPELLANT
& Yazbeck LLP
Ottawa, Ontario
John H. Sims, Q.C. FOR THE RESPONDENT
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
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