On Friday, The Supreme Court of Canada released its judgment in
the case of Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v.
Saskatchewan. Reversing decades of law, the Court
found there is now a Constitutional right to strike in Canada. The
Court determined that when a prohibition on striking amounts to a
substantial interference with the right to a meaningful process of
collective bargaining, it will be considered unconstitutional. In
effect, despite past case law of the Supreme Court to the contrary,
the Court has now found that the right to strike is a right
protected by s.2 of the Charter (freedom of
association).
The case arose because of essential services legislation which
was introduced by the Saskatchewan government. Under the
legislation, in the event of a public sector strike, a public
employer and the union must attempt to negotiate an "essential
services agreement" to govern how public services will be
maintained during the strike. If the parties cannot agree,
