Court Rules Rejection of Work Refusal by Border Officers Was Reasonable

A Border Services Officer and seven co-workers with the Canada Border Services Agency initiated a work refusal based on a lack of accurate and complete information about armed and dangerous individuals. A health and safety officer (HSO) investigated the refusal and concluded that no danger existed. The border officers appealed. The appeals officer also concluded there was no danger. So the officers asked a court to review the decision. The court dismissed the case, ruling that the appeals officer’s decision that the border officers weren’t in ‘danger’ because of the type of information provided to them on their computer systems was entirely reasonable [Martin-Ivie v. Canada (Attorney General), [2013] FC 772 (CanLII), July 10, 2013].