What Meaning in a Right to Strike? MedReleaf and the Future of the Agricultural Employees Protection Act

34 Pages Posted: 17 Aug 2021

See all articles by Bethany Hastie

Bethany Hastie

University of British Columbia (UBC), Faculty of Law

Alex Farrant

University of British Columbia (UBC), Faculty of Law

Date Written: July 27, 2021

Abstract

In June 2020, the Ontario Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeals Tribunal released its decision in UFCW v MedReleaf Phase 2. This decision focused on a constitutional challenge regarding the right to strike under the Agricultural Employees Protection Act, 2002 (AEPA), a separate statutory regime for agricultural workers, who are excluded from the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (LRA) in Ontario. This article explores the right to strike argument as it unfolded in the MedReleaf Phase 2 decision and highlights the enduring tensions that exist in articulating and extending labour rights under subsection 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to non-Wagner models of labour relations.

In particular, we highlight how the arguments and analysis in the MedReleaf Phase 2 decision narrowed the opportunity for a richer examination and interpretation of subsection 2(d) and the AEPA by focusing substantially on a comparison with strike regulation and protections as understood under the LRA. As such, the MedReleaf Phase 2 decision risks interpreting the right to strike under the AEPA as a “bare right” without necessary protections to enable workers to effectively exercise that right. We go on to craft an argument that such protections are readily available to workers under the AEPA. We establish that the language of the AEPA itself, coupled with the subsection 2(d) jurisprudence and fundamental rule of law principles, create the necessary foundation to make a right to strike a meaningful and protected activity under the AEPA. We conclude by offering commentary on the future of striking, and of labour organizing, under the AEPA.

Suggested Citation

Hastie, Bethany and Farrant, Alex, What Meaning in a Right to Strike? MedReleaf and the Future of the Agricultural Employees Protection Act (July 27, 2021). Ottawa Law Review, Vol. 53, No. 1, 2021, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3894051 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3894051

Bethany Hastie (Contact Author)

University of British Columbia (UBC), Faculty of Law ( email )

1822 East Mall
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1
Canada

Alex Farrant

University of British Columbia (UBC), Faculty of Law ( email )

1822 East Mall
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada

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