HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-0984.Church et al.20-11-02 DecisionCrown Employees
Grievance Settlement
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Commission de
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GSB# 2016-0984
UNION# 2016-0302-0005
Full list of files attached in “Appendix “A”
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
(Church et al) Union
- and -
The Crown in Right of Ontario
(Ministry of Health) Employer
BEFORE
Joseph D. Carrier
Arbitrator
FOR THE UNION
Jane Letton
Ryder Wright Blair & Holmes LLP
Counsel
FOR THE EMPLOYER Thomas Ayers
Treasury Board Secretariat
Legal Services Branch
Counsel
HEARING October 6, 2020 (by videoconference)
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INTERIM DECISION
[1] This matter was a subject of an earlier decision of the Grievance Settlement
Board issued November 18, 2019.
There, I identified in the opening paragraphs that:
[1] The subject grievances relate to scenarios at the Central
Ambulance Communication Centre (CACC) in Oshawa.
[2] The Grievors’ duties as Ambulance Communication Officers
(ACO-1) are largely comprised of the processing of requests
for Emergency Medical Services (EMS/Paramedics) and the
dispatch of EMS resources.
[3] There has yet to be a proper crystallization of issues in this
matter.
In that decision, amongst other things, I issued orders with respect to several
representative Grievors either to commit to these proceedings or to stand aside
and to be replaced by other representatives.
[2] Since that time, there has been significant compliance with my directions in that
decision, however, several new issues have arisen regarding productions which
require further determination. Since this matter was scheduled as a referral
pursuant to section 22.16 of the Collective Agreement between the parties, my
identification and disposition of the issues will be relatively brief.
[3] On April 27, 2020 the Employer responded in a fulsome manner to most of the
production requests and issues raised by the Union in a letter from its counsel
dated February 28, 2020. However, in its response the Employer took special
objection to two production requests made by Union counsel as follows:
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(a) The “full audio tapes” of the entire conversations of the calls made
by the public for “all dates the Union is relying upon”.
(b) The Bell call logs for the administrative lines for each twelve (12)
hour shift identified by the Union.
The Audio Tapes
[4] With respect first to the audio tapes the Employer’s objection was two-fold:
(a) “…it is the Employer’s position that releasing unredacted audio
tapes would breach its obligations under the Personal Health
Information Protection Act (PHIPA) as these unredacted
recordings would contain personal health information of members
of the public above and beyond what has been produced to the
Union so far for the purposes of facilitating the grievance.
It remains the Employer’s position that it cannot and should not
release any further personal health information given that the
Union has sufficient information to pursue its grievance and
provide the Employer with full and sufficient particulars. The
Employer will not produce the audio tapes requested by the
Union.
(b) Furthermore, it is my understanding that providing unredacted
recordings would still be a significant undertaking on behalf of
management that is not proportionate to the alleged relevance of
the audio tapes. In order to provide audio tapes, for each date
management would have to review multiple “channels” (up to 15)
individually, as the recordings are logged by the channel they are
stored on and not by the individual taking the call. This would
require a significant amount of effort gather those recordings for
the specific ACO for that date. As such, the Employer will not be
producing the audio tapes.
[5a] As follows, I have considered the Union’s request, the Employer’s objections and
submissions of counsel and I am satisfied that aside from the burden of
complying with the Union’s request for the audio tapes in issue, the release of the
tapes would constitute a breach by the Employer of its obligations pursuant to the
PHIPA. It would constitute a release of personal health information beyond what
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the public would expect with respect to personal medical information provided to
CACC employees while seeking medical assistance.
[5b] Additionally, I am satisfied that the information which the Employer has produced
or has agreed to produce in respect of the relevant dates including material such
as the 911 call logs, existing dispatch notes, schedules as well as incidents
reports insofar as they do not confirm any personal health information of callers
will be more than sufficient to satisfy the Union’s needs to crystallize its claims.
The additional burden upon the Employer of assimilating from the audio tapes
just those calls required would go beyond what is reasonably necessary to satisfy
the Union’s requirements.
[6] In the circumstances I decline the Union’s request for production of those audio
tapes.
The Bell Call Logs for the Administrative Telephone Lines
[7] The Employer also resists this request since the production of these logs would
also create not only a burdensome obligation upon the Employer to assimilate
the requested information but would also constitute a requirement to produce
material that is not in the Employer’s possession and would have to be created
by reviewing and assimilating phone call information from numerous shifts on
multiple phone lines. Additionally upon inquiry of Bell Canada the Employer
determined that the information requested could not be gathered directly from
that Company since it too had no way of identifying or separating administrative
call lines from regular emergency calls. The burden would therefore fall to the
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Employer to create or produce material which is not in the Employer’s
possession.
[8] Specifically the Employer provided the following explanation for denying the
request in the letter of April 27, 2020 by Counsel Thomas Ayers to Union
counsel, Ms. Jane Letton:
THE UNION’S REQUEST FOR THE BELL CALL LOG
… the Ministry maintains its position that producing the Bell Call Log
would be an unduly burdensome requirement. It is not existing
documentation that can be obtained and would involve the Ministry
creating material that does not presently exist. Producing this material
would require that one or more members of management manually
listening to, categorizing and documenting each phone call made on
multiple lines for each 12-hour shift identified by the Union and
specifically identifying the number of non-emergency/administrative
phone calls and the length of all such phone calls. Currently, these non-
emergency/administrative phone calls are not tracked as a measurable
component.
As the Employer also advised the Union in its letter dated April 18, 2018,
it has contacted technical support with the Ministry of Health and an
Operations Technical Specialist with Bell Canada and had been told by
both contacts that this information could not be gathered directly from Bell
Canada or by the Ministry’s technical support. Accordingly, it is the
Employer’s position that this information cannot be obtained other than
through the process described above, which is unduly burdensome in the
circumstances.
[9] In addition to the foregoing objection, Mr. Ayers reiterated his submission that the
fulsome information it has already provided or undertaken to provide should be
more than adequate to satisfy the Union’s requirements.
[10] As in the case of the Call Audio Tapes, I am satisfied that the Employer’s position
rejecting the Union’s request for the production of the Bell call logs must be
sustained for the very reasons submitted by Mr. Ayers. Accordingly, I decline to
order production of the requested Bell call logs.
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[11] The foregoing constitutes my decision in this interim matter. I remain seized of
course to deal with any further issues which might arise including, of course, the
merits of the case as and when all issues have been crystallized.
Dated at Toronto, Ontario this 2nd day of November, 2020.
“Joseph D. Carrier”
__________________________
Joseph D. Carrier, Arbitrator
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Appendix “A”
GSB File Numbers Union File Numbers
2016-0984 2016-0302-0005
2016-0985 2016-0302-0006
2016-0986 2016-0302-0007
2016-0987 2016-0302-0008
2016-0988 2016-0302-0009
2016-0989 2016-0302-0010
2016-0990 2016-0302-0011
2016-0991 2016-0302-0012
2016-0993 2016-0302-0014
2016-0994 2016-0302-0015
2016-1614 2016-0302-0022
2016-1615 2016-0302-0023
2016-1616 2016-0302-0024
2016-1617 2016-0302-0025
2016-1618 2016-0302-0026
2016-1619 2016-0302-0076
2016-1620 2016-0302-0077
2016-1621 2016-0302-0078
2016-1622 2016-0302-0079
2016-1623 2016-0302-0080
2016-1624 2016-0302-0081
2016-1625 2016-0302-0082
2016-1626 2016-0302-0083
2016-1627 2016-0302-0035
2016-1628 2016-0302-0036
2016-1629 2016-0302-0037
2016-1630 2016-0302-0038
2016-1631 2016-0302-0039
2016-1632 2016-0302-0040
2016-1633 2016-0302-0041
2016-1634 2016-0302-0042
2016-1635 2016-0302-0043
2016-1636 2016-0302-0044
2016-1637 2016-0302-0045
2016-1638 2016-0302-0046
2016-1639 2016-0302-0047
2016-1640 2016-0302-0048
2016-1641 2016-0302-0049
2016-1642 2016-0302-0050
2016-1643 2016-0302-0051
2016-1644 2016-0302-0052
2016-1645 2016-0302-0053
2016-1646 2016-0302-0054
2016-1647 2016-0302-0055
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GSB File Numbers Union File Numbers
2016-1648 2016-0302-0056
2016-1649 2016-0302-0057
2016-1650 2016-0302-0058
2016-1651 2016-0302-0059
2016-1652 2016-0302-0060
2016-1653 2016-0302-0061
2016-1654 2016-0302-0062
2016-1655 2016-0302-0063
2016-1656 2016-0302-0064
2016-1657 2016-0302-0065
2016-1658 2016-0302-0066
2016-1659 2016-0302-0067
2016-1660 2016-0302-0068
2016-1661 2016-0302-0069
2016-1662 2016-0302-0070
2016-1663 2016-0302-0071
2016-1664 2016-0302-0072
2016-1665 2016-0302-0073
2016-1666 2016-0302-0074
2016-2489 2017-0302-0001
2016-2490 2017-0302-0002
2016-2491 2017-0302-0003
2016-2492 2017-0302-0004
2016-2493 2017-0302-0005
2016-2494 2017-0302-0006
2016-2495 2017-0302-0007
2016-2496 2017-0302-0008
2016-2497 2017-0302-0009
2016-2498 2017-0302-0010
2016-2499 2017-0302-0011
2016-2500 2017-0302-0012
2016-2501 2017-0302-0013
2016-2502 2017-0302-0014
2016-2503 2017-0302-0015
2016-2504 2017-0302-0016
2016-2505 2017-0302-0017
2016-2506 2017-0302-0018
2016-2507 2017-0302-0019
2016-2508 2017-0302-0020
2016-2509 2017-0302-0021
2016-2510 2017-0302-0022
2016-2511 2017-0302-0023
2016-2512 2017-0302-0024
2016-2513 2017-0302-0025
2017-0018 2017-0302-0027
2017-0019 2017-0302-0028
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GSB File Numbers Union File Numbers
2017-0020 2017-0302-0029
2017-0021 2017-0302-0030
2017-0022 2017-0302-0031
2017-0023 2017-0302-0032
2017-0024 2017-0302-0033
2017-0025 2017-0302-0034
2017-0026 2017-0302-0035
2017-0080 2017-0302-0036
2017-0208 2017-0302-0037
2017-0371 2017-0302-0038
2017-0372 2017-0302-0039
2017-0397 2017-0302-0040
2017-0398 2017-0302-0041
2017-0399 2017-0302-0042