An application to the Board must be made in triplicate, using the appropriate Form. The various application forms used before the Board are set out in the Regulations to The Trade Union Act. Some applications do not have specific forms so will require adaptation of an existing form.

Every application must be in writing and must contain at the very least the name and address of the applicant, the name and address of the respondent and the material factual and legislative bases for the application. Every application must be declared before a Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public.

See Practice Note No. 1 - Interim Orders and Interlocutory Injunctions

Once an application has been filed with the Board, a copy of it is forwarded by the Board to the parties affected by the application together with instructions about how to reply to the application. If the respondent intends to contest the application, it must file a reply in the appropriate Form. In the case of an application for certification, the employer must also file a statement of employment. Replies and statements of employment must be sworn before a Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public. Once the respondent files a reply, a copy of it is forwarded to the applicant.

After both parties have filed the required forms with the Board, the Board Registrar contacts the parties to advise of the next step in the proceedings. Usually, this next step involves the Board Registrar sending out scheduling information forms to the parties to determine when they are both available for a pre-hearing and/or hearing of the case. Once the scheduling information forms have been completed and returned to the Board Registrar, dates are set for a pre-hearing and/or hearing of the case and the parties are advised of those dates.

Pre-hearings are conducted by either the Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, the Board Registrar or the Board Investigating Officer. Pre-hearings are "off-the-record" and are less formal than hearings. They are used to try to settle cases which can be settled and to manage those cases which cannot be settled by narrowing the issues and hopefully shortening the hearing.

Hearings are formal and resemble a court trial with sworn witnesses giving evidence before a three person panel of the Board. The applicant must lead evidence, through witnesses, to establish its position and the respondent must lead evidence in response. The respondent is able to cross-examine the applicant's witnesses and vice versa. The Board is neutral and does not take sides in the hearing.

A party before the Board does not have to be represented by a lawyer. The issue of whether a lawyer's assistance is necessary is one which must be decided by each party in each case before the Board. The Board is accustomed to hearing from unrepresented parties and does its best to ensure that the hearing process is "user-friendly."

Once a hearing date has been set by the Board Registrar, it may only be changed by consent of both parties or by Order of the Board or the Executive Officer of the Board. A party seeking an adjournment should first contact the other party to see if consent can be obtained. If a consent adjournment is possible, the parties should advise the Board Registrar of this fact. If a consent adjournment is not possible and one party still seeks an adjournment, that party should contact the Board Registrar to arrange for a hearing on the issue of an adjournment either before a panel of the Board or before the Executive Officer of the Board.

In some cases, the Board gives its decision "from the bench" at the close of the hearing. In most cases, however, the Board reserves its decision. If the Board reserves its decision, the parties will receive that decision by mail once it is written. It can take the Board from several days to many months to make a decision, depending upon its complexity and the Board's hearing schedule.

Most of the Board’s decisions are unanimous. However, there are occasions where one panel member disagrees with the majority decision of the Board. On those occasions, the dissenting panel member is encouraged to write a formal dissent which is forwarded to the parties together with the majority’s decision.

Parties are not permitted to speak to members of the Board panel which heard the case about when the Board's decision might be rendered. Board staff do not know and cannot speculate on when decisions will be released by the Board. All inquiries about Board decisions should be directed to the Board Registrar.

The Board's decisions are final and binding upon the parties before the Board. There is no appeal from a decision of the Board and review of a Board decision by the courts is strictly limited.

Questions about Board process may be directed to Board staff or the Board Registrar at:

1600-1920 Broad Street
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4P 3V2

(telephone) (306) 787-2406
(fax) (306) 787-2664

(e-mail) fred.bayer@gov.sk.ca