Longtime Whitehorse resident Don Evans isn't giving up his fight to have his firing from Teamsters Local 31 deemed a wrongful dismissal.

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada determined it would hear his case.

That decision comes after two previous court decisions in the territory over the dismissal.

After Evans was fired in January 2003, Yukon Supreme Court Justice Leigh Gower found Evans was wrongfully dismissed. However, the B.C./Yukon Court of Appeal overturned that decision last September.

'We did not like the decision,' Evans said in an interview this morning. 'The appeal court decision has made a new case law.'

With that, Evans, his lawyer and additional legal counsel in Ottawa opted to make a submission to the Supreme Court of Canada urging that the case be heard.

Evans was fired through a fax and subsequent phone call as the Teamsters Local 31 representative after 23 1/2 years on the job. The dismissal followed a new president being voted into the Teamsters.

In Gower's decision, Evans was awarded more than $100,000 based on the general Canadian court practice to compensate for between 18 and 24 months' regular salary in such cases.

However, the Appeal Court subsequently ruled that Evans had failed to act reasonably when the union offered him a job following the dismissal.

The Teamsters asked Evans to return to work in June 2003 and work through a 24-month notice period until Dec. 31, 2004.

The Teamsters had continued to pay Evans between his firing and June 2003 as lawyers for both sides continued discussions over the dismissal.

This morning, Evans pointed to a similar case where the employee went back to work only to be fired shortly afterward.

The employer would likely look for any reason to fire the employee after such a return to work, Evans said.

While Gower had concluded the union fired Evans and then tried to re-hire him, the Appeal Court ruled that Evans was unreasonable in not returning to work.

'It's going to affect a lot of people,' Evans said of the appeal court decision.

That's part of the reason he opted to approach the highest court in the country for a ruling.

Last Thursday, he sat anxiously by his computer waiting for word on whether the case would be heard. It was one of a number of cases the court was considering agreeing to hear.

While the entire process has been time-consuming, expensive and nerve-wracking for Evans, he is determined to keep up the fight.

The submissions for leave to appeal the case was $20,000 alone. If he wins the case and is awarded costs, Evans expects he'll break even.

With only recent word that the case will be heard, after opting to go to the Supreme Court of Canada last November, Evans said it's unknown just when that will happen.

'It could be anywhere from one month to six months,' he said. 'I hope it's not longer.'

Since he was fired, Evans pointed out, the union hasn't hired anyone locally as a representative. Rather, it has sent someone up from Vancouver once a month to do the local representative's work.

'It's good for the hotels and car rentals,' he said.

Evans has continued to pay his union dues since being fired, and hopes to run for a position in the next election.

He noted though he won't be seeking any sort of full-time position with the Teamsters since he enjoys his job with Takhini Transport, which operates most of the territory's school buses.

The Teamsters declined to comment on the case since it's with their lawyers at the moment.