Reference re Public Service Employee Relations Act (Alta.)
Encyclopedia
Reference re Public Service Employee Relations Act (Alta.), [1987] 1 S.C.R. 313 is a leading opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada
on right to freedom of association
under section 2(d)
of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
. The Court held that section 2(d) does not include the right to strike.
referred a reference question
to the Alberta Court of Appeal, which was eventually appealed to the Supreme Court. The questions concerned the constitutionality of prohibiting strikes and replacing them with compulsory arbitration.
Dickson, in dissent, also agreed with the characterization of the freedom, but argued that the right is not associated with particular activities but rather is "a freedom of persons to join and act with others in common pursuits".
Note that this case involved a "double-swing decision" where Dickson was assigned the reasons for the Court at conference but lost the signatures to McIntyre who then lost them to LeDain.
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
on right to freedom of association
Freedom of association
Freedom of association is the individual right to come together with other individuals and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests....
under section 2(d)
Section Two of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Section Two of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the section of the Constitution of Canada's Charter of Rights that lists what the Charter calls "fundamental freedoms" theoretically applying to everyone in Canada, regardless of whether they are a Canadian citizen, or an individual or...
of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...
. The Court held that section 2(d) does not include the right to strike.
Background
The province of AlbertaAlberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
referred a reference question
Reference question
In Canadian law, a Reference Question is a submission by the federal or a provincial government to the courts asking for an advisory opinion on a major legal issue. Typically the question concerns the constitutionality of legislation....
to the Alberta Court of Appeal, which was eventually appealed to the Supreme Court. The questions concerned the constitutionality of prohibiting strikes and replacing them with compulsory arbitration.
Opinion of the Court
McIntyre, argued that the freedom of association is an individual right that protects collective activities which are already protected by individual rights. Thus, activities that are prohibited individually are also forbidden collectively. As such, a trade union cannot strike incident to a collective bargain.Dickson, in dissent, also agreed with the characterization of the freedom, but argued that the right is not associated with particular activities but rather is "a freedom of persons to join and act with others in common pursuits".
Note that this case involved a "double-swing decision" where Dickson was assigned the reasons for the Court at conference but lost the signatures to McIntyre who then lost them to LeDain.