APTS complaint over door sign dismissed by tribunal

The logo of the APTS. (LA PRESSE CANADIENNE/Jacques Boissinot)

The Alliance of Professional and Technical Health and Social Services Staff (APTS) failed to convince a tribunal that the CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l’île-de-Montréal had interfered with its activities by requesting that a poster affixed to the door of a technician, who was also a union liaison officer, be moved to a union-designated bulletin board.

The Administrative Labour Tribunal ultimately dismissed the obstruction complaint filed by the APTS, which had sought payment for moral and punitive damages — which were not granted.

The dispute concerned a poster affixed to the door of a technician, a member of the APTS, to indicate that she was also the union’s liaison officer.

The employer said it believed that the technician’s clinical duties should have been kept separate from her union duties.

It added that it also feared employees would discuss union matters with the liaison officer in her office during work hours.

The APTS had insisted that the bulletin board made available to the union was located in a rarely used hallway, which hindered communication with members.

It stated that, even though the collective agreement provided for a bulletin board to be made available to the union, “nothing in it prohibits posting in other locations, and nothing provides that prior authorization from the employer is required,” something the Tribunal noted in its decision.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 8, 2026.