A Federal Court of Appeal judge has acquitted Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. CP-T of contempt of court related to excessively long hours worked by employees.
The ruling from Justice Donald Rennie sets aside a lower court decision, stating it is “impossible to rationalize a finding of contempt with the facts” given CPKC took “meaningful steps” toward compliance.
The judgment overrides a Federal Court’s contempt-of-court ruling from last year that found the company failed in 22 instances in 2018 and 2019 to comply with cease-and-desist orders laid out by an arbitrator.
The orders related to rest provisions under federal regulations and a pair of collective agreements for conductors and engineers that largely limit shifts to 10 or 12 hours, depending on the circumstances.
Canadian Pacific says in a statement it is pleased with the acquittal.
The Teamsters union, which represents thousands of CPKC workers, calls the decision “very disappointing” and claims the company “routinely” violates collective agreements.