Section 97 — Canada Labour Code: Complaints to the Board

Subject to subsections (2) to (5), any person or organization may make a complaint in writing to the Board that an employer, a person acting on behalf of an employer, a trade union, a person acting on behalf of a trade union or an employee has contravened or failed to comply with subsection 24(4) or 34(6) or section 37, 47.3, 50, 69, 87.5 or 87.6, subsection 87.7(2) or section 94, 95 or 96.1; or any person has failed to comply with section 96. Subject to subsections (4) and (5), a complaint pursuant to subsection (1) must be made to the Board not later than ninety days after the date on which the complainant knew, or in the opinion of the Board ought to have known, of the action or circumstances giving rise to the complaint. [Repealed, 1998, c. 26, s. 43] Subject to subsection (5), no complaint shall be made to the Board under subsection (1) on the ground that a trade union or any person acting on behalf of a trade union has failed to comply with paragraph 95(f) or (g) unless the complainant has presented a grievance or appeal in accordance with any procedure that has been established by the trade union and to which the complainant has been given ready access; the trade union has dealt with the grievance or appeal of the complainant in a manner unsatisfactory to the complainant, or has not, within six months after the date on which the complainant first presented their grievance or appeal pursuant to paragraph (a), dealt with the grievance or appeal; and the complaint is made to the Board not later than ninety days after the first day on which the complainant could, in accordance with paragraphs (a) and (b), make the complaint. The Board may, on application to it by a complainant, determine a complaint in respect of an alleged failure by a trade union to comply with paragraph 95(f) or (g) that has not been presented as a grievance or appeal to the trade union, if the Board is satisfied that the action or circumstance giving rise to the complaint is such that the complaint should be dealt with without delay; or the trade union has not given the complainant ready access to a grievance or appeal procedure.