Ontario Hydro v. Ontario
| Ontario Hydro v Ontario (Labour Relations Board) | |
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| Hearing: November 9, 1992 Judgment: September 30, 1993 |
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| Full case name | Ontario Hydro v Ontario Labour Relations Board, Society of Ontario Hydro Professional and Administrative Employees, Canadian Union of Public Employees ‑‑ C.L.C. Ontario Hydro Employees Union, Local 1000, Coalition to Stop the Certification of the Society on Behalf of Certain Employees, Tom Stevens, C. S. Stevenson, Michelle Morrissey‑O'Ryan and George Orr |
| Citations | [1993] 3 S.C.R. 327 |
| Ruling | Appeal was dismissed. |
| Court Membership | |
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Chief Justice: Antonio Lamer Puisne Justices: Gérard La Forest, Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, John Sopinka, Charles Gonthier, Peter Cory, Beverley McLachlin, Frank Iacobucci, John C. Major |
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| Reasons given | |
| Majority | La Forest J., joined by L'Heureux-Dubé and Gonthier JJ. |
| Concurrence | Lamer C.J. |
| Dissent | Iacobucci J., joined by Sopinka and Cory JJ. |
| McLachlin and Major JJ. took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
| Laws Applied | |
| Bell Canada v. Quebec, [1988] 1 S.C.R. 749 | |
Ontario Hydro v Ontario (Labour Relations Board), [1993] 3 S.C.R. 327 is a leading constitutional decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on the federal declaratory power and the peace, order and good government power under the Constitution Act, 1867. The Court held that the regulation of relations between Ontario government and employees of a nuclear power plant was under federal jurisdiction under the federal declaratory power of section 92(10)(c) of the Constitution Act, 1867, and the national concern branch of the peace, order and good government.
Ontario Hydro is a power generating corporation owned by the Ontario government. Among their power generating plants include five nuclear generators. These nuclear plants fall under the jurisdiction of the federal Atomic Energy Control Act. Section 18 of that Act provides that all works and undertakings "constructed for the production, use and application of atomic energy" are works that are "for the general advantage of Canada".
The Society of Ontario Hydro Professional and Administrative Employees applied for certification under the Ontario Labour Relations Act to represent the employees of Ontario Hydro including those who work at the nuclear plants. The Coalition to Stop the Certification of the Society, another group of employees, attempted to prevent the society from getting certification on the grounds that nuclear stations were in the jurisdiction of the Canada Labour Code which would require them to apply to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
The Ontario Labour Relations Board agreed with the Coalition and held that they did not have jurisdiction to certify the bargaining unit. On appeal to the Court of Appeal for Ontario the ruling of the Board was upheld.
The issue before the Supreme Court was stated as:
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