Portrait Of Bad Faith Bargaining

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has now painted a very clear picture of its views on the duty to bargain in good faith.  The SCC recently upheld a decision finding that a reversal of a longstanding bargaining position was a breach of that duty. The full text of the SCCs decision is here: Canadian Artists' Representation v. National Gallery of Canada, 2014  SCC 42. Our review of the decision follows.

Background

The Status of the Artists Act (the "Artist Act") governs professional relations between artists and federal government institutions that engage artists, including the National Gallery of Canada (the "Gallery").  Much like labour relations legislation, the Artist Act allows certification of associations to represent the interests of groups of artists, and to negotiate agreements – called "scale agreements" – with these federal institutions.