Civil Society Advocacy

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The Supreme Court of Canada upholds the right to collective bargaining for teachers’ union

On 10 November 2016, in a decisive victory for workers’ rights, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) upheld the constitutional right to the freedom of association {S. 2 (d)}, delivering a 7-2 decision in favor of the British Columbia Teacher’s Federation (BCTF), the labour union that represents all public school teachers in the province of British Columbia (BC).

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In 2010, Daniel Ng’etich and Patrick Kipng’etich Kirui were arrested by the Public Health Officer, Nandi Central District Tuberculosis Defaulter Tracing Coordinator, who applied to a Magistrate for their imprisonment, alleging that they had failed to take prescribed TB medication. Pursuant to Section 27 of the Public Health Act, the Magistrate ordered that the men be confined for eight months or a satisfactory period for treatment. They remained in prison for 46 days.

Under the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act ("Leadership Act"), U.S. based organizations receiving funding for life-saving HIV prevention work abroad were required to pledge their opposition to prostitution.  Furthermore, on 23 July 2007, USAID and the U.S.

Jeannine Godin lived in poverty and relied on social assistance.  The Minister of Health and Social Services had been granted custody of her three children for six months, and was applying to extend this for another six months.  She applied to legal aid for a lawyer to represent her at the hearing but was denied because legal aid did not cover temporary custody hearings.  She applied to the court for an order that funds be provided for a lawyer and asked for a declaration that the restricted eligibility for legal aid violated her rights to life, liberty and security of the person under s.

In 1994 the Agriculture Labour Relations Act (ALRA) was passed to include agricultural workers in the Province of Ontario's labour relations regime.  One year later a newly elected Conservative government repealed the ALRA.  The Appellants challenged both the repeal of the ALRA and the exclusion of agricultural workers from the Labour Relations Act (LRA) as an infringement of the rights of agricultural workers to associate under section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter.  They also alleged discrimination against a vulnerable class of workers, in violation of the right to equali