Ontario's highest court has released a precedent-setting
decision on the scope of the right to freedom of association under
section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the
Charter).
In its decision in Independent Electricity System Operator v
Canadian Union of Skilled Workers, released on May 8, 2012, the
Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that the Charter does not
guarantee employees work opportunities or guarantee trade unions a
right to their preferred model of collective bargaining. The court
also confirmed that the Charter protects individual rights and not
the rights of trade unions as institutions.
Construction industry collective bargaining
The Ontario Labour Relations Act, 1995 (the Act) has special
rules applicable only to construction companies and trade unions
operating within Ontario's construction industry. A series of
decisions from the Ontario Labour Relations Board (the Board)
expanded the application of these special rules to
