"While Shime had a few 2009 dates to offer, we couldn’t find any that were open to both nominees. The earliest date we could get was March 16.  I am reminded to send this to you, as, even though the date has been set for about a month, I just got the official notice this week.

The hearing is for the purposes of a “case conference” to see where we go next.  It is scheduled for 10 am on March 16 at JPR."

As you can see, the next hearing date is well off still.  The management approach to this process, so far, has been to delay and roadblock as much as they can.  The Board has dealt with a series of preliminary matters all raised by the colleges and in each case, the Board has found in favour of the claimants.  That does not mean 100% of the claims will succeed.  There is still no way to tell that at this point.  Every claim remains alive and well.  The "where we go next" is about how to actually process the claims in a more efficient and workable manner now that the preliminaries - so far as we know - are out of the way.

While we all wish otherwise, there is really no way to hurry this along.  Our counsel has pressed upon the chair of the Board, Mr. Shime, our desire to have every available date as early as possible.  Mr. Shime did expand his own availability to assist, but it is a three-person panel with union and management representation.   Please let your interested members know that nothing has gone wrong, just that this is how long it can take sometimes, especially when one party is not wanting a fast resolution.