Bill 14 redefines the limits of the right to strike by placing greater emphasis on the well-being of the population.
Effective November 30, 2025, Bill 14 introduces a new concept into the Labour Code: services ensuring public welfare. Entitled An Act to give greater consideration to the needs of the population in the event of a strike or lock-out, LQ 2025, c. 14, it defines such services as “the services minimally required to prevent the population’s social, economic or environmental security from being disproportionally affected, in particular that of persons in vulnerable situations.”
This new framework has led the Administrative Labour Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) to rule, for the first time, on the scope of this concept in Centre de la petite enfance Le Jardin de Robi inc. v. Syndicat des travailleuses des centres de la petite enfance et des bureaux coordonnateurs du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, FSSS-CSN.
