Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, Local 580 v. Dolphin Delivery Ltd.

Purolator Courier Incorporated (Purolator) was engaged in a dispute with the union representing its workers in British Columbia, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, Local 580 (Local 580) (defendant). Dolphin Delivery Ltd. (Dolphin) (plaintiff) did business with Purolator. A different union represented Dolphin’s workers, but the collective-bargaining agreement between Dolphin and the other union allowed Dolphin’s workers to refuse to cross a picket line established by another union. When the Purolator-Local 580 dispute arose, Dolphin ceased doing business with Purolator but started doing business with an Ontario company, Supercourier Ltd. (Supercourier), associated with Purolator. Local 580 asserted that Dolphin and Supercourier were allies of Purolator, but the British Columbia Labor Relations Board (the board) rejected the claim. Local 580 then threatened to picket Dolphin to impact Purolator—known as secondary picketing. Dolphin successfully sought an injunction, with the court finding that Local 580’s secondary picketing was to induce a breach of contract and civil conspiracy to injure Dolphin and that Local 580’s rights to freedom of expression did not apply because the union intended to injure and not to communicate, given that Purolator was the actual opponent of Local 580. The appellate court agreed. Local 580 appealed to the Canada Supreme Court.