Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 07/99) - Hearings in the decade-long pay-equity suit between the government and its workers will take place mainly in Ottawa, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ruled.

The tribunal heard preliminary arguments in Yellowknife earlier this year by lawyers for the GNWT and the Public Service Alliance of Canada -- which launched the suit on behalf of the Union of Northern Workers in 1989.

On Tuesday the tribunal ruled that the "balance of convenience and the other factors in the case run overwhelmingly in favour of setting the ordinary venue of the hearing in Ottawa."

The matter of venue has been a contentious issue. The government argued that the hearings should take place in various territorial communities.

The union called the ruling a victory, citing costs and the fact that many retired workers are now living in the south, and that the law firms engaged by both parties are based in Ottawa and Montreal.

"It would not have made any sense to travel all over the North with three teams of lawyers, their support staff and all the witnesses," said UNW president Jackie Simpson. "That would have been difficult and expensive for all parties involved and would have led to more delays in concluding this complaint."

But Herb Hunt had also argued for the government that the unions were also interested in an Ottawa hearing because many pay-equity lobby groups are based there, and because the unions were interested in arguing a territorial issue on a national stage.

In a sign of conciliation, however, the tribunal also ruled that opening and closing arguments will take place in Yellowknife -- and that the hearing is set to kick off June 28.

Preparing for battle

Another contentious issue remains unresolved. Over the winter the government began a campaign of settling with individual workers. Former Finance Minister John Todd said in late March that the majority of individual workers had settled and waved their right to further compensation.

But union counsel Andrew Raven said the tribunal would decide the implications of the settlements.

"You can't simply oust a Human Rights Tribunal matter and say, 'We've agreed to this.'" he said.

Raven said counsel were scheduled to meet with the tribunal again Thursday to deal with administrative matters and finalize hearing dates into the year 2000.

Tom Brady, the government's lawyer with Montreal-based Heenan Blaikie referred all comments Wednesday to GNWT Director of Labour Relations and Compensation Sylvia Haene -- who was unavailable Wednesday.