Case information

Constitutional law — Charter of Rights — Freedom of association — Right to collective bargaining — Provincial wage restraint legislation enacted but not in force — Trial judge concluding that legislation violates freedom of association — Court of Appeal allowing appeal and holding legislation did not substantially interfere with s. 2(d) associational rights — Whether a fact specific and contextual analysis is required in determining the constitutionality of legislation including wage restraint laws, under s. 2(d) of the Charter — What is the nature of the question and the related standard of review when assessing a trial judge’s decision that government conduct or legislation is unconstitutional? — Public Services Sustainability Act, C.C.S.M., c. P272 — Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ss. 1, 2(d).

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

The Public Services Sustainability Act, C.C.S.M., c. P272 (“PSSA”), which was passed in 2017, is wage restraint legislation that set wage caps of 0 percent, 0 percent, 0.75 percent and 1 percent over a four year period. It applied broadly across the public service to both unionized and non-unionized employees. The applicants, the Manitoba Federation of Labour and 28 unions, sued the respondent, Government of Manitoba, claiming that the PSSA violated the s. 2(d) Charter rights of their members. The trial judge allowed the claim, concluding that the PSSA substantially interfered with the s. 2(d) associational rights of employees to engage in a meaningful process of collective bargaining and that this violation could not be justified under section 1. On appeal, the Court of Appeal determined that Meredith v. Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 2, [2015] 1 S.C.R. 125, stands for the proposition that it is not unconstitutional for a government to remove by statute the topic of wages from the bargaining table so long as the wage restraint legislation is broad based and time limited, and that it does not preclude a meaningful collective bargaining process from occurring on other important workplace matters. As the PSSA met that criteria, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, concluding that the PSSA did not substantially interfere with s. 2(d) associational rights.