Police Service Boards must file collective agreements with Ontario Police Arbitration and Adjudication Commission

The Community Safety and Policing Act (CSPA) requires Police Service Boards to file a copy of any collective agreement with the Ontario Police Arbitration and Adjudication Commission (OPAAC):

Notice of desire to bargain

If no agreement exists, or at any time after 90 days before an agreement would expire but for section 234, a majority of the members of a police service may give the police service board notice in writing of their desire to bargain with a view to making an agreement, renewing the existing agreement, with or without modifications, or making a new agreement.

Within 15 days after the notice of desire to bargain is given or within the longer period that the parties agree upon, the police service board shall meet with a bargaining committee of the members of the police service.

The parties shall bargain in good faith and make every reasonable effort to come to an agreement dealing with the remuneration, pensions, sick leave credit gratuities and grievance procedures of the members of the police service and, subject to section 231, their working conditions.

The police service board shall promptly file a copy of any agreement with the Arbitration and Adjudication Commission.

Section 224 of the CSPA

The Act does not specify a specific deadline for filing a collective agreement, but requires that the agreement be filed “promptly”.

OPAAC is the continuation of the former Ontario Police Arbitration Commission. Agreements and arbitration proceedings initiated under the old Act continue under the new Act.

Here are the collective agreements that OPAAC has on file which are available upon request by emailing [email protected].

Many collective agreements are also available for download on the Ministry of Labour’s Collective Agreements e-Library Portal.

Police Service Boards email collective agreements to OPAAC

it is OPAAC’s practice to have all finalized collective agreements emailed to our office, in order for us to update our internal database. We currently do not have a website portal to house these agreements via our website, however, any requests for these documents, along with submitting new agreements, can be sent to our general inbox: [email protected]. This method will ensure police services boards are in compliance with Section 224(4) of the CSPA.

OPAAC manager

Ontario Police Arbitration and Adjudication Commission (OPAAC) directs users to the e-Library Portal

OPAAC lists “Maintain and Distribute Information & Research Materials” as one of its core business functions in its Annual Reports. In their financial and operational reviews, they confirm that they fulfill their mandate to provide data to the public by utilizing Ministry of Labour infrastructure.

CPSA exempts members of a police service from the Labour Relations Act

The Labour Relations Act requires each party to a collective agreement to file a copy with the Ministry of Labour in the e-Library Portal, however, the Labour Relations Act does not apply to members of police services:

Each party to a collective agreement shall, forthwith after it is made, file one copy with the Minister in the form specified by the Minister.

The Minister shall publish the copies of collective agreements filed under subsection (1) or otherwise make them available to the public.

For greater certainty, the Minister may satisfy the obligation set out in subsection (2) by publishing the copies on a Government of Ontario website.

Section 90 of the Labour Relations Act

This Act does not apply,

(d)  to a member of a police service within the meaning of the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019;

Section 3 of the Labour Relations Act