In the quiet boardroom steps from Parliament Hill, as the 2024-25 fiscal year closed on March 31, the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board sealed its final tally under the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act.

Seventeen new referrals had arrived.

Twenty-five files had been closed.

The 147 percent net clearance rate changed the picture. The Board began the year with 32 pending cases and ended with 24. Thirteen files were withdrawn, five settled between the parties, and only one reached a Board order. Most scheduled hearings dissolved before evidence was called. Two formal mediations produced full settlements.

One new interest arbitration board was established at the parties’ request. Another completed its work. A June 2024 tentative agreement, reached with mediator assistance, avoided arbitration altogether.

A landmark judicial review added precision. In Library of Parliament v. Public Service Alliance of Canada, 2025 FCA 42, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the Board’s broad discretion in interest arbitration but ruled it had exceeded jurisdiction on telework provisions under the Act. The case was remitted to a new panel.

This is where labour relations for parliamentary staff stand right now.