NWT man heads to court in bid to overturn union suspension

A territorial government employee is asking the NWT Supreme Court to intervene after he was suspended from his union for five years.

Jacques Roberge filed an application earlier this month asking a judge to review his suspension and reinstate his membership with the Union of Northern Workers, or UNW, and its parent the Public Service Alliance of Canada, or PSAC.

Roberge argues a tribunal’s earlier decision to dismiss appeals of his suspension was “unreasonable, incorrect and arbitrary.”

“I look forward to somebody that’s independent and impartial looking at my case to see if everything was fair and if the sentence or the punishment falls within … the scale of reasonable decisions,” he told Cabin Radio.

According to Roberge’s application, the president of the UNW submitted a complaint against him in July 2024 alleging he had breached his obligations under union rules.

A committee established by PSAC that investigated the complaint submitted its final report to the UNW executive in December 2024. The committee recommended that Roberge be suspended from PSAC and its affiliates for at least three years and that he not be eligible to hold any union office or attend any union sponsored courses, conferences, working groups or activities during that time.

That same month, the UNW suspended Roberge’s membership in the union for five years. PSAC upheld that decision.

Appeals dismissed

Roberge appealed the UNW and PSAC’s decisions, arguing the committee had acted inappropriately by investigating toward a predetermined outcome, breaching his language rights, failing to provide him sufficient time to respond to a draft report, and failing to explain how findings and recommendations were reached.

Roberge further alleged the UNW erred in making its decision by allowing witnesses to participate in the decision-making process, rushing the executive to make a decision before fully reviewing the report, failing to follow the recommendations of the committee by increasing the length of the suspension, and failing to provide reasons for its decision.

He said PSAC erred by relying on the UNW’s decision, failing to conduct an independent assessment of the complaint and final report, and failing to provide reasons for its decision.

An appeal tribunal dismissed Roberge’s appeals in January 2026.

Roberge now argues the tribunal “made serious errors of law and fact” by failing to provide sufficient reasons for dismissing his appeals, ignoring evidence he submitted, failing to address all of the grounds for his appeal, failing to consider breaches of procedural fairness and natural justice, and demonstrating bias toward the unions.

Roberge works for the NWT Department of Infrastructure as a senior legislative advisor. He served as president of union Local 10, which represents infrastructure employees, prior to his suspension.

He staged a one-man protest outside the union’s headquarters in Yellowknife in October 2025 following his suspension. That prompted a public statement from PSAC North regional executive vice-president Josée-Anne Spirito, stating the protest made some people attending a committee meeting at the building “uncomfortable.”

Reasons for suspension unclear

The exact reasons for Roberge’s suspension remain unclear to Cabin Radio.

Roberge said there are “a number of general allegations” that he breached union rules but it is still unclear to him “what I did on which date and with who” that underpinned the findings against him.

“I can only guess, and what I’m guessing is I would say my troubles started when I asked for some financial information, mainly on benefits of the elected union officials,” he said.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada, or PSAC, told Cabin Radio in a statement that it would “not comment on the specifics of the application” as the matter is before the court.

“PSAC takes its responsibility to ensure a respectful, inclusive, and safe environment for all members very seriously,” the union stated.

“Allegations involving member conduct are addressed under the PSAC Constitution through established disciplinary and appeal procedures.”