Two Big Wins For Unions At The SCC

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of Canada delivered a pair of big wins to Canadian unions. Both judgments relate to public sector unions, but may have important implications for labour law more generally. In both cases, the Court has undermined its own precedent.

Mounted Police Association of Ontario v. Canada (Attorney General)

The first case is Mounted Police Association of Ontario v. Canada (Attorney General). In this case, the Court (per McLachlin C.J. and Le Bel J. for the six-judge majority; Rothstein J. dissenting) held that a legislative ban preventing members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from unionizing was unconstitutional because it infringed the right to freedom of association under Charter s. 2(d).

The majority considered that the legislated human relations scheme substantially interfered with the right to associate because the scheme was not chosen or controlled by RCMP members, was not independent from management, and did not permit...