An arbitrator has ruled that the City of Niagara Falls may contract out its fire dispatch function to the City of St. Catharines Fire Service, finding that the mandatory transition to next-generation 911 technology created extraordinary circumstances that justified an exemption from the collective agreement’s no-contracting-out provision.
The interim award, issued March 3, 2026, addresses the renewal collective agreement between the city and Niagara Falls Professional Fire Fighters Association, Local 528, IAFF, which expired December 31, 2023. The arbitrator determined that affected members of the Communications Division are entitled to a range of protections, including enhanced severance, employment placement options, and pay continuity.
Background
The city’s fire dispatch function had been performed by four full-time communicators and a captain of communications operating a one-seat call centre. While the city initially planned to upgrade its own systems ahead of the March 31, 2027, NG911 implementation deadline, it became apparent in the summer of 2025 that the plan was not workable. The cost and complexity of completing the transition rendered it “effectively impossible,” the arbitrator found.
In October 2025, city council approved an agreement with St. Catharines to provide NG911 dispatch services. The association objected, arguing the move would violate Article 21 of the collective agreement. The parties agreed the issue required an expedited interim determination, with hearings held in December 2025 and January 2026.
The contracting out question
The arbitrator confirmed that no-contracting-out provisions serve a fundamental purpose, protecting the economic wellbeing of bargaining unit employees and the integrity of the bargaining unit, and that exemptions should be considered only in extraordinary circumstances.
The arbitrator found those circumstances present here. “Leaving aside any allegations of fault, or neglect, there is no question that immediate action is required to ensure that dispatch services are available for the department in 2027,” the award states.
The arbitrator noted the exceptional nature of the ruling. An employer “cannot expect to obtain relief from contracting out protections in interest arbitration in ordinary circumstances,” the award states, and a bargaining agent “would not freely negotiate exceptions to contracting out protections unless there were truly no reasonable alternative options available.”
The award directed that a note be appended to the collective agreement’s contracting out article confirming the city is permitted to transfer the dispatch function to St. Catharines on the conditions set out in the interim award.
Employee protections
The arbitrator ordered a series of protections for affected Communications Division members.
Each affected employee will have the option of accepting an enhanced severance package consisting of six weeks’ pay per completed year of service, plus payout of all earned vacation, banked overtime, and banked sick time. The option remains open until June 1, 2027.
Any communicator who accepts or has already accepted a regular position with St. Catharines as a result of the contracting-out announcement will receive a one-time lump sum payment of $10,000 as compensation for the loss of seniority and service entitlements under the collective agreement.
New bargaining unit positions
Effective June 1, 2026, the city must create and fill an additional fire prevention officer position. A second new position — fire prevention technician — will also be created in the bargaining unit for another affected communicator. The city will provide the necessary training for that role, including qualifications under the Fire Code, NFPA 1031, NFPA 1035, and NFPA 1072, to be completed by June 1, 2028. During the training period, that employee will be paid at 85 per cent of a first-class firefighter salary and will maintain her seniority and service under the collective agreement.
Continuity protections
One communicator has been offered a position with St. Catharines. The city must keep that employee whole with respect to compensation, including recognition pay, vacation pay, and pension contributions, as if she remained employed by Niagara Falls, for as long as she remains in that role. Any accumulated sick bank, lieu time, or vacation bank that St. Catharines will not assume must be paid out by the city on May 31, 2026.
A member of the Communications Division currently on WSIB leave as a result of a workplace injury is also protected. Upon recovery and return to work, she will have the option of taking the enhanced severance package or, if she obtains a permanent position with St. Catharines, the $10,000 lump sum payment. If neither option is available to her, the parties may return to the arbitrator for a further determination.
The award states that, with the exception of employees electing severance or St. Catharines employment, no association member shall lose employment or suffer a reduction in pay as a result of the contracting out.
The arbitrator remains seized for any dispute regarding the interpretation, implementation, or enforcement of the interim award. The remaining issues in the interest arbitration, including any other relief or consequences flowing from the contracting out, will be addressed in the final award.
For more information, see Niagara Falls (City) v Niagara Falls Professional Fire Fighters Association, Local 528, 2026 CanLII 18920 (ON LA).
