Members of Canada's RCMP federal police will now have the right to form a union and have collective bargaining rights, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Friday, January 16, 2015.
Photo Credit: Jeff McIntosh/CP

Supreme Court rules Canada’s RCMP federal police can have union, collective bargaining

The Supreme Court of Canada struck down a law that stopped members of Canada’s federal police force, the RCMP, from unionizing, saying it violated their charter rights to freedom of association, and the court ruled forming a traditional union is one option that would restore their collective bargaining rights, but not the only option.

The ruling on Friday (January 16) comes after a long-fought battle for the right to collectively bargain with the federal government, and overturns a previous ruling by the court.

The RCMP has been specifically barred from forming a union since the 1960s, when other federal public servants gained the right to collective bargaining. It’s the only police force in Canada with such a restriction.

The court ruling pointed out “…denying RCMP members any meaningful process of collective bargaining is also more restrictive than necessary to maintain the Force’s neutrality, stability and reliability. The RCMP is the only police force in Canada without a collective agreement to regulate the working conditions of its officers. It has not been shown how or why the RCMP is materially different from the police forces that have the benefit of collective bargaining regimes that provide basic bargaining protections.”

The court has given the government 12 months to come up with a new regime that respects the freedom of association and guarantees Mounties’ rights to collective bargaining.

A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, who is responsible for the RCMP, says the government “acknowledges the ruling,” and is reviewing it.

The 6-1 Supreme Court decision was criticized by Supreme Court Justice Marshall Rothstein in the judgement as an example of, what the Globe Mail newspaper described as “improper judicial activism”.

Canada’s national labour federation, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) applauded the decision.

“The Court has confirmed what workers have known instinctively all along,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “The right to choose an independent association to engage in collective bargaining forms the essence of freedom of association.”

More information:
Supreme Court of Canada judgement – here
CBC News – RCMP officers have right to collective bargaining, Supreme Court rules – here
Globe and Mail – Supreme Court backs Mounties’ right to collective bargaining – here
CTV News – Mounties have right to bargain, not necessarily unionize: SCC – here
Canadian Labour Congress press release – Supreme Court vindicates right to meaningful collective bargaining – here

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