SCC Decision Offers Potential Insight Into Privacy Rights For Private-Sector Employees

In a significant decision focused on public employers, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recently held that Ontario public school boards are "government" and, as such, they are subject to the provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter), and their teachers are protected from unreasonable search and seizure in their places of employment. In York Region District School Board v. Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, the SCC provided recommendations for how an alleged breach of an employee's Charter-based right to privacy should be analyzed. Although the SCC did not explicitly reference the reasonable expectation of privacy in private-sector workplaces, the analysis undertaken in York Regions District School Board may be worthy of consideration in the private-sector context.