No.  Departments and agencies are required to comply with the collective agreement obligations without exception.  A deliberate delay on account of the imposition of a condition precedent that is not already prescribed by the collective agreement would likely be viewed by the AJC as an unreasonable, arbitrary or bad faith application and interpretation of the collective agreement and therefore a violation of the collective agreement.  

Terms and conditions can flow from one of 3 sources: legislation, policy or the collective agreement.  Where terms and conditions of employment are contained in a collective agreement and there is a conflict between an employer's policy and a collective agreement provision, the collective agreement shall prevail.  Where there is a conflict between the collective agreement and legislation however, legislation is likely to prevail subject to the results of any challenge to such legislation.

Generally, terms and conditions of employment are collectively bargained as between the exclusive bargaining agent and Treasury Board, the employer.  However, there exist some statutory limitations to what can and cannot be negotiated.  Below is a table setting out general guidelines on what is generally negotiated and what is generally not negotiated.

Article 5 of the LPs Collective Agreement (Management Rights) and section 11 of the Financial Administration Act provide the employer with the right to modify and introduce new terms and conditions of employment which may not already be covered in a collective agreement.  This could include such things as a harassment prevention policy or a code of conduct, such as the new Public Servants´ Code of Values and Ethics.

The only restriction on introducing new terms and conditions of employment not already covered in a collective agreement is the timing.  Section 107 of the Federal Public Service Labour Relation Act (FPSLRA) prevents the employer from modifying terms and conditions from the time that notice to bargain has been provided until a new collective agreement comes into force.  Modifications to organizational codes such as a Code of Values and Ethics can therefore only become applicable to employees once the occupational group emerges from collective bargaining.

No. The AJC is not questioning the authority of Treasury Board, departments or agencies to unilaterally introduce a new Code of Values and Ethics following the coming into force of the new collective agreement.  The AJC only takes issue with inappropriately worded acknowledgement forms that undermine the AJC´s fundamental exclusive bargaining agent status and that has the potential effect of restricting its members' ability to challenge the reasonableness of some of the new Code's provisions in the event disciplinary action is taken against its members.