EllisDon wins in court but loses Ontario’s government support as it seeks to overcome 1958 Sarnia Working Agreement Canadian Design and Construction Report staff writer EllisDon’s efforts to prevent a 1958 local agreement from tying the company to province-wide collective bar- gaining with roofing, electrical and sheet-metal subcon- tractors resulted in contradictory legal and political decisions in late September and October. The Ontario Divisional Court ruled in the company’s favour, deciding on Sept. 27 that the unions could not use the old local agreement to force the company to work with union-only contractors outside of the Greater Toronto Area. However, that court decision caused premier Kathleen Wynne to back off from her earlier support of a private member’s bill that would legislate a permanent solution to the issue. And the unions have said they will appeal the court’s decision. This leaves the company in a situation where it could face constant legal battles before the OLRB and in the courts affecting only its business and not its competi- tors, says Tom Howell, EllisDon’s vice-president of labour relations. “They’ve (the unions) already been back to the On- tario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) trying to improperly reargue the same points they failed to raise during the judicial review,” Howell said. “This is not an anti-union piece of legislation. We’re a proud union company. But it’s an incredibly complex issue and that’s why it’s been so hard to get the story out.” On this issue, EllisDon has the support of two unions not normally used to co-operating with each other, the Carpenters’ Union and the Labourers International Union of North America (LIUNA). The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Fall 2013 – 23