Document Details

L’Écuyer and Locas operate a farm. However, they cannot bring their products to market on their own. They need help. For a number of years, L’Écuyer and Locas have been hiring workers from Mexico (the migrant workers). They begin to arrive in March and return home at the end of October. Since 2008, L’Écuyer and Locas have employed six migrant workers each year. L’Écuyer and Locas’ children occasionally work on the farm. Local workers are also employed from time to time, but are hired on a daily basis. Otherwise, the migrant workers are the only employees of the farm.

On July 10, 2008, les Travailleurs et travailleuses unis de l’alimentation et du commerce (the Union) deposited a petition under the Quebec Labour Code[1] (the Code) to be certified as the bargaining agent of the farm’s workers. The Union asked the Commission des relations du travail (the Commission) to certify the Union to represent: « Tous les salariés au sens du Code du travail à l’exclusion des employés de bureau et des employés affectés à l’administration. » L’Écuyer and Locas contested the motion on the basis of paragraph 5 of section 21 of the Code

The Court agrees with the Commission that the Union has met its burden. While there is no evidence that it had actually attempted to negotiate with L’Écuyer and Locas on behalf of the workers, the conclusion that the employer had no intention of negotiating was one which could be drawn from the evidence on a balance of probabilities.