James returned to CHSMC in 2003 after five years with another Toronto union-side firm.
James appears regularly on behalf of union clients at the OLRB, CIRB, grievance arbitration, and at the Canada Appeals Office dealing with health and safety issues in federal jurisdiction. He has represented union clients in judicial reviews at both Ontario Divisional Court and the Federal Court of Appeal.
His labour board work has dealt with a broad range of issues and industries, including complex status and bargaining unit disputes, Bill 136 applications, trusteeships and construction matters. At the CIRB, he was union counsel on DHL International Express Ltd., where for the first time the CIRB used its remedial powers to award first contract arbitration without a reference from the Ministry of Labour, resulting in the first collective agreement in Canada at the world’s largest courier.
James leads the firm’s construction group. His work in the construction industry has covered the gamut of issues including certifications, related employer applications, abandonment applications, sector and jurisdictional disputes, as well as private trade agreement arbitration. In The Roberts Group, he made the first successful argument for damages arising from a jurisdictional dispute at the OLRB.
He is a member of the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers (CALL), and has presented on construction issues at the CALL annual conference; and is a member of the OBA where he was co-chair of the first joint CLE session of the Labour and Construction sections.