Case information

Constitutional law — Charter of Rights — Official languages — Fundamental justice — Labour relations — Grievances — Employee of federal public service suing employer in Federal Court for allegations of harassment, intimidation, defamation, false accusations and discrimination in course of his employment — Employer claiming that dispute is governed instead by grievance process, according to Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act — Federal Court granting employer’s motion to strike and dismissing employee’s action — Court of Appeal dismissing employee’s appeal — Whether lower courts violated applicant’s language, bijural and constitutional rights — Whether lower courts committed errors of law — Whether there was miscarriage of justice and/or procedural unconstitutionality — Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act, S.C. 2003, c. 22, s. 2, ss. 208, 236

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

The applicant, Firmin Nguepi Dongmo, is an employee in the federal public service. He sued his employer in the Federal Court, alleging that he was a victim of psychological and criminal harassment, intimidation, defamation, false accusations and discrimination in the course of his employment. The employer claimed that the dispute must instead be resolved administratively, through a grievance procedure, as set out in the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act, S.C. 2003, c. 22, s. 2.

The trial judge in the Federal Court granted the employer’s motion to strike and dismissed Mr. Dongmo’s action. The Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Dongmo’s appeal.