Where a retail store is performing very well, with objectives
being met to such an extent that bonuses are being promised to
employees, would a reasonable employer close that store? The
Supreme Court of Canada determined in the U.F.C.W., Local 503
v. Wal-Mart Canada Corporation decision released on June 27,
2014 that the answer is no when the closure occurs while a
collective agreement is being negotiated.
This grievance, along with several others based on different
arguments by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union
("UFCW"), was brought against Wal-Mart after it closed
its Jonquiere, Quebec store on April 29, 2005. The UFCW was
certified as the bargaining agent for the store in 2004. This was
the first Wal-Mart store in North America to complete the
certification process and become unionized. The parties were unable
to reach a collective agreement and the UFCW applied on February 2,
2005 to the Minister of Labour to appoint an arbitrator to settle
the
