Jean Denis Boucher is a partner and the head of our Labour and Employment Law Group. His practice focuses on labour and employment law (certification, negotiation and application of collective agreements), labour relations, occupational health and safety, and human rights. He assists various Canadian businesses, providing advice on labour and employment and human rights matters governed by provincial law.
Jean Denis worked in the CTCUM’s (the predecessor of Montreal’s current public transit commission) legal department as labour relations counsel for two years. This allowed him to argue most of the grievances filed during that time, involving bus drivers, maintenance workers and all other unionized employees. He also drafted legal opinions to be approved by the Board prior to terminations. Furthermore, Jean Denis took part in the negotiation of collective agreements for bus drivers and represented the employer in negotiations with metro security agents, unionized managers and office employees. He continued representing the CTCUM in grievance arbitrations for a year after leaving their legal department for private practice.
Jean Denis also has substantial experience with individual employment relations, on matters such as drafting and applying non-competition and confidentiality clauses, and has appeared in court for clients seeking to enforce them.
Negotiation of Collective Agreements
In addition to his work in the public transportation sector, Jean Denis has acted as a spokesperson in negotiations with employers, such as retail chains Zellers and Wise.
Recently negotiated and closed agreements include:
- Franklin Empire, which specializes in the distribution of electric equipment for industrial and commercial clients. Jean Denis drafted agreements for the Montreal, Chicoutimi and Quebec sites.
- Morbern, an upholstery fabric manufacturer operating a plant in Lachine
- Pacific Steel, a steel distributor with two sites in Laval
- A.T.B. Industries, a plastic moulding company operating a plant in Pointe-Claire
- Les Entreprises Réal Caron, a trucking business with a site in Montreal’s Rivière-des-Prairies district
A J Walter Aviation Limited
Jean Denis represented A J Walter Aviation Limited (“AJW”), the world’s leading independent provider of integrated aviation services, in the acquisition of the assets of the former component repair business, Aveos Fleet Performance Inc.
The deal involved:
- Negotiating a collective agreement term sheet on behalf of AJW with the Aveos union in record time, a pre-requisite to AJW acquiring the Aveos assets
- Preparing AJW’s bid to purchase the assets of the CMC Division of Aveos from the court-appointed Chief Restructuring Officer and Monitor
- Negotiating a new lease for downsized premises with the former Aveos landlord
- Assisting AJW in securing acquisition and operating financing
Teamsters Québec local 106 c. Linde Canada Ltée (October 24, 2014)
Jean Denis represented an employer carrying on business in the transportation of dangerous gases. A union grievance was filed against the employer’ decision to implement a video surveillance system in its trucks. The grievance was dismissed, as the cameras were a reasonable encroachment on the drivers’ privacy.
Other Cases
- Represented pharmacies in an application for the certification of a group of employees working at the post office counters of several franchised pharmacies in a given geographic area
- Instituted proceedings by employees against a union for failing to file grievances against a layoff ordered by our client
- Successfully defended an employer against a complaint filed by a job applicant who was not hired
- Defended an employer against a claim for psychological harassment. The claim was dismissed: the employer’s only action within the 90-day time limit to file a complaint was the termination of the complainant, which was not itself considered harassment.
- Represented a distributor of oxygen tanks in occupational health and safety proceedings following an accident that killed the employee of an unrelated employer
- Defended an employer against a claim for unfair dismissal filed by an employee who claimed to have the right to be absent from work for family reasons. The claim was dismissed because the absences were not considered motivated.
8 May 2020
Following the Québec government’s decision to allow the restart of commercial activities in the manufacturing, retail, and construction sectors, the question that keeps coming up is the application of the concept of the right of refusal. Numerous employers are wondering whether their employees can refuse to return to work after a recall, following the restart […]
4 June 2019
An employee taking a sick leave is usually required to justify his absence with a medical certificate. But can the doctor simply state that “This leave is medically justified” or must he provide details of the illness? Jean Denis Boucher discusses this question in light of a recent decision of the Administrative Labour Tribunal in […]
