Summoning Witnesses Under the Public Service Labour Relations Act

An application for a summons under the Public Service Labour Relations Act (PSLRA) must be filed with the Executive Director. Pursuant to paragraph 40(1)(a), subsection 147(1), subsection 174(1) and paragraph 226(1)(a) of the PSLRA, the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB), an arbitration board, a public interest commission or an adjudicator can summon witnesses, enforce their attendance and compel them to give oral or written evidence under oath in the same manner as a superior court of record.

Pursuant to sections 18 and 103 of the Public Service Labour Relations Board Regulations (the Regulations), the party applying for a summons may be required to provide some information before the summons is issued. Such information may include the following:

• the name, address, title and employer of the person to be summoned;
• the substance of such person's proposed testimony.

(Note: When a witness must also produce documents, the request should include an explanation of the documents' relevance with respect to the issues raised by the proceedings.)

The party summoning a witness bears the responsibility of serving the summons in accordance with the rules in force in the province or territory where the hearing will be held. More information regarding those rules may be sought from the appropriate superior court.

Expert witnesses

Parties intending to have a witness recognized as an "expert witness" at the hearing should send this individual's credentials (e.g., curriculum vitæ and list of publications) to the other party beforehand. This will serve to notify the other party of the intention to produce the evidence of an expert witness and allow the party to review the individual's credentials in advance.

When requesting a summons for an expert witness, the requesting party should arrange for a specific date and time for that testimony and provide that information to the PSLRB, along with the request for a summons. If necessary, the requesting party should discuss these scheduling arrangements with the opposing party prior to requesting the summons.

All reports of expert witnesses that will be produced at the hearing should be sent to the other party in advance. If the other party intends to challenge the qualifications of the expert witness or produce its own expert witness, its intentions should be indicated by return correspondence.

The PSLRB does not require copies of this type of correspondence between the two parties. However, the credentials of the expert witness must be produced at the hearing.

Payment of witness fees

Section 248 of the PSLRA provides that a person who is summoned by the PSLRB, an arbitration board, a public interest commission or an adjudicator to attend a hearing under the PSLRA as a witness is entitled to the same fees and allowances as if that person were to attend before the Federal Court. More information regarding those fees and allowances may be sought from the Federal Courts Rules.

All costs, fees and allowances regarding the attendance of a witness, including those relating to the service of the summons, are borne directly by the party summoning the witness.

Copies

An application for a summons does not need to be copied to the other parties, intervenors, or interested persons as it falls within the exceptions listed in subsection 7(3) of the Regulations.

For more information…

Please consult:

• Paragraph 40(1)(a), subsection 147(1), subsection 174(1), paragraph 226(1)(a) and section 248 of the PSLRA.
• Subsection 7(2), subsection 7(3), section 18 and section 103 of the Regulations.