CCLA Opposes New Limits on Right to Strike

MONTREAL — Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, Director of the Fundamental Freedoms Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), made the following statement:

We are deeply alarmed by the content of Bill 89 introduced this week by the Quebec government. This bill is a direct attack on the right to strike.

Bill 89 authorizes the Administrative Labour Tribunal to limit the right to strike of some employees providing “services ensuring the well-being of the population”. The bill also authorizes the Minister of Labour to put an end to a strike by referring a dispute between an employer and its employees to an arbitrator, if the Minister is of the opinion that a strike “causes or threatens to cause serious or irreparable harm to the public”.

A strike is a pressure tactic. Its very essence is to create temporary discomfort. It is imperative that the government not unduly erode this fundamental right protected by section 2(c) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and section 3 of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized that the ability to collectively cease work during the negotiation of a collective agreement constitutes the “irreducible minimum” of the freedom to associate in Canadian labour relations. The importance of the right to strike stems from the marked inequalities that exist in relations between employers and employees. To counterbalance employees’ vulnerability, it is crucial that they have this leverage in the event of a breakdown in negotiations.

Bill 89 goes too far in authorizing the Administrative Labour Tribunal to limit employees’ right to strike in the manner proposed. Under the terms of the bill, the notion of “well-being of the population” refers to the “social, economic or environmental security of the population”—concepts that are too vague and too broad and could lead to abuses.

The same goes for the notion of “threatening to cause serious harm (…) to the population”, which could be invoked by the Minister of Labour to put an end to a strike as soon as it generates significant discontent among groups with the ear of people in power.

Like all fundamental rights, freedom of association is not absolute. It may sometimes be legitimate to limit the right to strike in a minimal and proportionate way, for example to ensure that essential services are maintained when a strike could have the effect of endangering public health or safety. Such limits are already provided for in the Quebec Labour Code. They should not be unduly broadened as suggested by the government.