Ontario (Attorney General) v. Fraser

2011 S.C.C. 20 (2011)

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Ontario (Attorney General) v. Fraser

Canada Supreme Court
2011 S.C.C. 20 (2011)

Facts

A group of farm workers (workers) (plaintiffs) worked at a large, industrial mushroom farm. The workers sought to join a union. But the farm refused to recognize the union as the employees’ representative. The union attempted to contact the farm, but the farm was unresponsive. The workers sought to resolve the issue under the Labour Relations Act (LRA), even though the law expressly excluded agricultural workers from coverage. Instead, the Agricultural Employees Protection Act (AEPA) provided certain collective-bargaining rights to agricultural workers. But the rights under the AEPA were limited relative to those under the LRA. Specifically, the AEPA required agricultural employers to listen to oral requests of workers and acknowledge written requests. But the LRA went further and contained, for example, certain mechanisms for resolving collective-bargaining disputes. The workers sued the attorney general of Ontario (Ontario) (defendant), claiming that the AEPA violated their rights to association under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (charter). The trial court dismissed the case, but the Ontario Court of Appeal concluded that the AEPA was unconstitutional. Ontario appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (McLachlin, C.J.)

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