For immediate release

Ottawa – The Supreme Court of Canada will release its decision on Friday, January 16, 2015, in Mounted Police Association of Ontario v. Attorney General of Canada. The case considers the ability of RCMP officers to unionize.

Under the law, RCMP members and any professional organizations formed on their behalf are excluded from collective bargaining. The Mounted Police Association of Ontario (MPAO) and the BC Mounted Police Professional Association (BCMPPA) brought a court case arguing that the law violates RCMP members’ constitutional right to freedom of association under s. 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Under the law, a staff relations representative program is the only process for resolving RCMP labour issues, but the MPAO and the BCMPPA assert that the program is not independent of management.

The BCCLA is an intervener in this case before the Supreme Court of Canada. The BCCLA argues that the regime in place for RCMP labour concerns is an unjustifiable violation of RCMP members’ right to freedom of association because it prohibits RCMP members from taking any meaningful collective action. The BCCLA says that the public interest is not served when RCMP officers have no meaningful access to workplace democracy, or to effective, independent grievance procedures.

The BCCLA is represented by Lindsay M. Lyster of Moore Edgar Lyster.

The BCCLA’s argument in this case is available here.

What: Supreme Court of Canada to deliver its judgment in Mounted Police Association of Ontario v. Attorney General of Canada

When: Reasons for judgment will be delivered on Friday, January 16, 2015 at 9:45 a.m. (EST) / 6:45 a.m. (PST)

Where: Supreme Court of Canada (Ottawa, Ontario)

Who: Representative of the BCCLA available for comment

MEDIA CONTACT
Lindsay M. Lyster, BCCLA President and lawyer for the BCCLA: (604) 710-7227