Bill 7 explained in plain English
York Region Transit Labour Disputes Resolution Act, 2011
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 40th Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The York Region Transit Labour Disputes Resolution Act, 2011 mandates the end of current labour disputes and prohibits future strikes and lock-outs in York Region's public transit, establishing arbitration as the mechanism for resolving collective agreement issues.
This Ontario Act, called the York Region Transit Labour Disputes Resolution Act, 2011, aims to end and prevent labour disputes for public transit services in York Region. It requires any current strikes or lock-outs involving the transit companies and their employees' bargaining agents to end immediately. The Act prohibits future strikes and lock-outs and instead mandates arbitration to resolve any disagreements over collective agreements. It outlines the process for appointing an arbitrator, the arbitrator's powers and duties, and how awards are made and implemented. The Act also includes provisions for delegation of powers by the Minister, transitional measures, and a review of the Act five years after it comes into force.
- Requires the immediate termination of any existing strikes or lock-outs involving public transit service providers in York Region and their bargaining agents.
- Prohibits future strikes and lock-outs by employees and employers in this sector.
- Establishes a mandatory arbitration process for resolving collective agreement disputes when negotiations fail.
- Defines the process for appointing an arbitrator, including timelines and the Minister's role in case of party failure to appoint.
- Outlines the arbitrator's powers, duties, and procedures, including considering various factors when making an award.
- Specifies how arbitration awards are to be implemented, including the preparation and execution of a collective agreement.
- Allows for the retroactivity of collective agreement terms.
- Requires a review of the Act within one year following the fifth anniversary of its commencement.
- Grants the Minister the power to delegate certain responsibilities.
- Provides for transitional measures to handle labour disputes that were in process before the Act came into force.
- Three specific companies providing public transit services to The Regional Municipality of York (First Student Canada, Miller Transit, Ltd., and Veolia Transportation, Inc.).
- Bargaining agents representing employees of these transit companies.
- Employees of these transit companies.
- The Minister of Labour (or designate).
- Arbitrators appointed under this Act.
- The Regional Municipality of York (indirectly, as the contracting municipality for transit services).
- Employers must use all reasonable efforts to operate their undertakings and terminate any lock-out immediately upon the Act receiving Royal Assent.
- Bargaining agents must terminate any strike immediately upon the Act receiving Royal Assent.
- Employees must terminate any strike immediately and resume their duties.
- Employees and employers are prohibited from striking or locking out.
- Parties are required to participate in arbitration if they cannot reach a collective agreement.
- Parties are required to pay one-half of the arbitrator's remuneration and expenses.
- Arbitrators have the power to examine and decide on all matters in dispute to conclude a collective agreement.
- Arbitrators must consider specific criteria when making an award, including the employer's ability to pay and the economic situation.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Strikes and lock-outs must be terminated as soon as the Act receives Royal Assent.
- Arbitrators must be appointed within seven days after the Act receives Royal Assent, or after the Minister informs parties that a conciliation officer failed to reach an agreement.
- Arbitration proceedings must commence within 30 days after the arbitrator is appointed.
- An arbitrator's award must be given within 90 days after appointment, unless extended.
- A review of the Act must be initiated within one year following the fifth anniversary of its coming into force.
- Parties to the arbitration are each responsible for paying one-half of the arbitrator's remuneration and expenses (Section 14).
- The Act requires arbitrators to consider the employer's ability to pay and the fiscal situation, and the extent to which services may need to be reduced if funding and taxation levels are not increased, indicating potential financial implications for the employer and the municipality (Section 13(2)).
- Strikes or lock-outs in contravention of Section 3 are deemed unlawful for the purposes of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Section 4(3)). While the text outlines offenses, it does not specify penalties for these offenses within this Act, but refers to applicable sections of the Labour Relations Act, 1995.
- Sections 104, 105, 106, 107 and 109 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 apply with necessary modifications, which may include penalties for offenses related to strikes and lock-outs as defined in that Act.
- The specific penalties for contraventions of the Act are not detailed within the text, beyond referring to the Labour Relations Act, 1995.
- While the Act refers to 'offences' and applicable sections of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, the exact nature and extent of these penalties as applied under this Act are not explicitly laid out.
- The text does not specify which 'three companies' provide transit services to York Region, though it lists them in the 'employer' definition.
- The Act refers to the Minister's discretion in certain appointment and selection processes (e.g., selecting arbitration methods), the scope of which is not further defined.
Several sections of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 are made applicable to this Act with necessary modifications, and certain provisions are specifically prohibited or modified, such as strikes and lock-outs, and the alteration of working conditions.
Source: Sections 4(2), 5(1), 6
This Act establishes a new framework for resolving labour disputes within specific public transit companies in York Region.
Source: Preamble, Section 24
This Act defines the 'Minister' as the Minister of Labour or another member of the Executive Council to whom responsibility for administering this Act is assigned or transferred under the Executive Council Act.
Source: Section 1(1)
Arbitrators making an award must consider the purposes of the Public Sector Dispute Resolution Act, 1997.
Source: Section 13(2) para 6
The Arbitration Act, 1991 does not apply to arbitrations held under this Act.
Source: Section 13(4)
The Statutory Powers Procedure Act does not apply to proceedings before an arbitrator under this Act.
Source: Section 13(5)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
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No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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