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MIR 823/824: Industrial Relations and Labour Law

This guide points students to research tools and sources they can use for research assignments in MIR 823 and MIR 824.

Cases & Awards

A case is a written decision of a judge in a court case or tribunal. In the common law in Canada, judges must follow the principle of stare decisis. The principle of stare decisis requires judges to follow previous rulings (i.e. precedents) from higher courts in their province or territory or the Supreme Court of Canada on the same issue. 

A labour arbitration case, also called an arbitration award, is the written decision of a labour arbitrator resolving a matter submitted for their consideration. Arbitration awards are binding on the parties involved in the dispute.

To identify the leading cases and awards on a particular legal issue, start by consulting one of the legal textbooks listed in this guide. Once you have found the leading cases, search the following databases to locate additional cases and awards on your topic.

Case Law Databases

Searching a case law database can help you locate additional decisions to the ones that you have identified through secondary sources.

Here are some tips for contructing a search in a case law database:

  • Use keywords and short phrases that describe the specific legal topic you are researching (e.g. addiction).
  • Include relevant legal "terms of art" (words or phrases that have a specialized meaning in law) in your search string (e.g. duty to accommodate).
  • Use quotations marks around short phrases that always appear in the same order (e.g. "duty to accommodate").
  • Use the search connector AND to combine different concepts together into one search string (e.g. "duty to accommodate" AND addiction).
  • Include synonyms and/or alternate search terms when appropriate. Use the search connector OR to tell the search engine to look for any of these terms (e.g. theft OR stealing).

Search the databases below to locate court cases and arbitration awards.

Case Law Summaries

A case summary is a short description of the key facts, the legal issue(s), the arguments and/or reasoning, and the outcome of a case. Some case summaries also include a comment regarding the legal significance of the case. 

Searching a topical collection of case summaries can be a great way of quickly locating cases on a particular legal issue. The following database can be used for locating case summaries in the field of labour and employment law.