The Enforcement of Labour Orders outside the Jurisdiction of Origin

Edward Mazey

ABSTRACT

The author examines domestic and international developments that may enable Canadian courts to enforce labour orders outside their jurisdiction of origin. Such enforcement has, in the past, been difficult. Although there are a number of international agreements on the enforcement of monetary judgments, there are currently no international or even inter-provincial agreements for the enforcement of non-monetary, in personam judgments -- such as orders requiring an employer to return to a certain jurisdiction -- and the common law has historically been reluctant to enforce orders from outside the jurisdiction of origin. Without such enforcement, however, labour rights cannot fully protect all of the interests they are designed to safeguard; alternative remedies such as monetary compensation are often insufficient. Through the examination of recent developments in Canadian common law, such as the increased receptivity to foreign judgments following De Savoye v. Morguard Investments Ltd. et al., and through consideration of recent proposals for domestic statutes and international conventions, the author suggests that the inter-jurisdictional enforcement of labour orders should be regarded as feasible.

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Citation: (2001) 59(1) U.T. Fac. L. Rev. 25.
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