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Accountability
*The Canada Industrial Relations Board is an agency operating under the Minister of Labour’s portfolio.
The Constitution Act, 1867, provides that provincial jurisdiction extends over "Property and Civil Rights," meaning that the negotiation of collective agreements containing terms and conditions of employment for employees is regulated by the provinces. The Constitution, however, assigns exclusive jurisdiction to Parliament over specific sectors of the economy, and as such, it has seen fit to enact laws regulating employment matters within those sectors that have constitutionally been reserved to it. Laws governing the federal jurisdiction are contained in the Code, which is divided into three parts:
Part I of the Code sets out the terms under which trade unions may acquire the legal right to represent employees in the negotiation of collective agreements with their employer. It also delineates the process under which collective bargaining takes place and provides remedies to counter infractions committed by any party subject to the Code’s provisions.
Part I of the Code had remained virtually unchanged since 1972. However, with the coming into force on January 1, 1999 of Bill C-19, an Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (Part I), R.S. 1998, c. 26, significant changes were made to the Code in an effort to modernize it and improve the collective bargaining process for federally regulated industries. The Act replaced the Canada Labour Relations Board with the Canada Industrial Relations Board as an independent, representational, quasi-judicial tribunal responsible for the interpretation and application of Part I, Industrial Relations, and certain provisions of Part II, Occupational Health and Safety, of the Code.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board’s mandate is to contribute to and to promote effective industrial relations in any work, undertaking or business that falls within the authority of the Parliament of Canada. |
In support of its mandate, the Board established the following vision and values:
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The Board’s role is to exercise its powers in accordance with the Preamble and provisions of the Code, which state that Parliament considers "the development of good industrial relations to be in the best interests of Canada in ensuring a just share of the fruits of progress to all." To that end, the Board aims to be responsive to the needs of the industrial relations community across Canada.
The Board, as provided for in the Code, is comprised of the Chairperson, two or more full time Vice-Chairpersons, not more than six full-time Members (of which not more than three represent employers and not more than three represent employees) and any other part-time Members (representing, in equal numbers, employees and employers) necessary to discharge the responsibilities of the Board. All are appointed by the GIC: the Chairperson and the Vice Chairpersons for terms not to exceed five years, the Members for terms not to exceed three years. (Information on Board Members can be found at http://www.cirb-ccri.gc.ca/about/members/index-eng.asp.)
The Chairperson is the chief executive officer of the Board. The provisions of the Code assign to the Chairperson supervision over, and direction of, the work of the Board, including:
The Board’s headquarters are located in the National Capital Region. Support to the Board is provided by the Executive Director, reporting directly to the Chairperson. The Executive Director is responsible for regional operations, case management, client and corporate services, financial services and human resources. The Legal Services Branch provides legal assistance as required by the Board and its units and the General Counsel also reports directly to the Chairperson of the Board.
The Board also has five regional offices in Dartmouth, Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, with a satellite office in Winnipeg. These offices are staffed by labour relations professionals and case management teams. Each regional office is headed by a regional director, who reports to the Executive Director in Ottawa.
2007-2008 | |||
($ thousands) Stategic Outcome |
Budgetary | Total Main Estimates | Total Planned Spending |
Operating | |||
Administration and interpretation of Part I (Industrial Relations) and certain provisions of Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) of the Canada Labour Code | 12,437 | 12,437 | 12,437 |
Total | 12,437 | 12,437 | 12,437 |
The administration and interpretation of Part I (Industrial Relations) and certain provisions of Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) of the Code contributes to the achievement of the Government of Canada’s "income security and employment for Canadians" outcome area.
Further information on how to contact the regional offices can be found at: http://www.cirb-ccri.gc.ca/contact/index-eng.asp
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($ thousands) |
Forecast Spending 2006-2007 |
Planned Spending 2007-2008 |
Planned Spending 2008-2009 |
Planned Spending 2009-2010 |
Administration and interpretation of Part I (Industrial Relations) and certain provisions of Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) of the Canada Labour Code | 12,396 | 12,437 | 12,437 | 12,437 |
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Total Main Estimates* | 12,396 | 12,437 | 12,437 | 12,437 |
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Adjustments: | ||||
Procurement Savings | ||||
Administration and interpretation of Part I (Industrial Relations) and certain provisions of Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) of the Canada Labour Code | -30 | |||
Supplementary Estimates | ||||
Operating budget carry forward | 510 | |||
Other | ||||
Treasury Board Vote 15 | 95 | |||
Employee Benefit Plan (EBP) | -24 | |||
Public Accounts Operating budget lapse | -600 | |||
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Total Adjustments | -49 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Total Planned Spending | 12,347 | 12,437 | 12,437 | 12,437 |
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Total Planned Spending | 12,347 | 12,437 | 12,437 | 12,437 |
Plus: Cost of services received without charge | 2,793 | 3,010 | 3,108 | 3,135 |
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Total Departmental Spending | 15,140 | 15,447 | 15,545 | 15,572 |
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Full Time Equivalents | 101 | 110 | 110 | 110 |
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* The total main estimates for 2007-2008 and future years is approximately $41,000 more than last year. These differences result from the eligible expenditure requirements of the $95,000 increase in salaries under collective agreements with its associated employee benefit plan increase of $18,000, an adjustment of the employee benefit plan rate from 19% to 18.5% for a $42,000 decrease and the procurement savings for another $30,000 decrease, which for 2006-2007 are identified under the heading "Adjustments."
Table 2: Voted and Statutory ItemsVote or Statutory Item ($ thousands) |
2007-2008 Main Estimates |
2006-2007 Main Estimates |
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10 | Operating expenditures | 10,887 | 10,822 |
(S) | Contributions to employee benefit plans | 1,550 | 1,574 |
Total Department | 12,437 | 12,396 |
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($ thousands) |
2007-2008 |
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Accommodation provided by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) | 2,423 |
Contributions covering employer’s share of employees’ insurance premiums and expenditures paid by Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (excluding revolving funds) | 587 |
Salary and associated expenditures of legal services provided by the Department of Justice Canada | 0 |
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Total 2007-2008 Services received without charge | 3,010 |
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