Halifax Regional Centre for Education v. Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private Employees
Halifax Regional Centre for Education
Law Firm / Organization
McInnes Cooper
Lawyer(s)

Alex Warshick

Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private Employees
Law Firm / Organization
Stockton Maxwell & Elliott
Lawyer(s)

Ronald A. Stockton

Nova Scotia Labour Board
Law Firm / Organization
Department of Justice- Nova Scotia
Lawyer(s)

Edward A. Gores

Key Points:

  • The Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) sought to introduce an affidavit from a lawyer, Mallory Adams, to supplement the record on judicial review.
  • HRCE challenged a Nova Scotia Labour Board decision allowing the Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private Employees (NSUPE) to create a separate bargaining unit for trades and maintenance workers.
  • The Labour Board granted the application to split the bargaining unit, but HRCE argued the Board’s decision was unreasonable, misapplied legal tests, and lacked supporting evidence.
  • The Union opposed the affidavit, arguing that the judicial review should be based on the existing record.
  • The Court ruled that:
    • Affidavits generally cannot supplement the record on judicial review.
    • Exceptions exist (e.g., proving procedural unfairness, filling gaps in the record, or showing an absence of evidence).
    • Parts of Adams’ affidavit (paragraphs 7 and 14) were admissible to show the Board ignored agreed facts.
    • The remainder of the affidavit was inadmissible as it amounted to reinterpreting evidence rather than proving an absence of evidence.
  • The Union’s request to introduce its own affidavit was denied but could be pursued through a separate motion.
  • No monetary award specified.

Successful Party:

  • The decision does not resolve the judicial review itself but only the admissibility of affidavit evidence.
  • HRCE (the employer) partially succeeded, as two paragraphs of their affidavit (7 and 14) were admitted.
  • NSUPE (the union) partially succeeded by having most of the affidavit excluded.
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
Hfx. No. 534708
Labour & Employment Law