Application under Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom section 2(d) (freedom of association) and section 15 (equality rights) challenging repeal of legislation allowing agricultural workers to organize and bargain collectively; Challenge to retrogressive measure; Whether positive obligation to protect vulnerable workers.
The Agricultural Employees Protection Act (AEPA) was passed by the Conservative Government of Ontario to comply with the Court’s ruling but imposes no requirements on employers to reach collective agreements and provides no mechanism for workers to choose a union. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) are challenging the AEPA under the Charter in a new case (Fraser v. Ontario).
This decision is an important precedent for challenging the repeal of protective legislation or other retrogressive measures. The Court also affirmed that the state has positive obligations to protect vulnerable workers from actions by private employers. The European Court took a similar approach in interpreting article 11 of the ECHR in Wilson and the National Union of Journalists et al. v. United Kingdom, referring to the Dunmore decision.
United Food and Commercial Workers Canada at http://www.ufcw.ca/index.cgi