A Manitoba health-care worker who was fired from her job for drinking alcohol cannot challenge her termination under her province’s Human Rights Code, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled. 

The ruling sided with the employer’s argument that disputes between a unionized employee and an employer on an issue covered by a collective agreement, can only be settled by a labour arbitrator working with both parties. 

The ruling is significant and has ramifications across the country because the human rights codes and labour relations acts of many provinces are based on similar principles of law.

This case stems from the 2011 suspension