FCA Confirms Adjudicator’s Right to Enforce Settlement Agreements

The Federal Court of Appeal recently released its decision in Amos v. Attorney General of Canada, affirming the jurisdiction of an Adjudicator appointed under the Public Service Labour Relations Act to enforce a settlement agreement entered into by the parties to an adjudicable grievance.

In allowing Andrew Amos’ appeal, the Federal Court of Appeal concluded that the Adjudicator’s decision was supported by the PSLRA’s increased emphasis on the voluntary resolution of disputes and Parliament’s intention that the Act provide an exclusive and comprehensive regime for resolving grievances. In doing so, the Court of Appeal agreed that case law under the previous PSSRA no longer applied, rejecting the Respondent’s argument that the grievor’s recourse was limited to presenting a new, non-adjudicable grievance to the employer.

Mr. Amos was represented by Andrew Raven and Andrew Astritis. The full text of the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision is available here.