Can I inherit a unionized workforce's grievances that were already in progress?

Yes, this is a real possibility, and it's closely tied to whether you're found to have stepped into the seller's shoes as the employer for labour relations purposes. In a share purchase, ongoing grievances continue with the corporation as a matter of course, since it's the same continuing employer. In an asset purchase, if Ontario labour relations law's successor-rights provisions apply to your transaction — because you're continuing substantially the same unionized operation — grievances already filed or in progress can carry over to you along with the collective agreement itself, rather than simply disappearing with the change in ownership.

This is genuinely fact-specific rather than something a purchase agreement alone can guarantee away, since successor-rights findings depend on the substance of the deal, not just its paperwork. A grievance in progress at the time of sale is worth identifying specifically during due diligence, both for what it might cost and for what it tells you about the state of labour relations you're inheriting.

Ask for a full list of active grievances before closing, and get an assessment of whether successor-rights protections are likely to apply to your specific transaction. A Treadstone business lawyer can help evaluate this exposure.