Report on Supreme Court Fraser Decision released
 |
On April 29, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada delivered a decision that "abandoned agriculture workers in Ontario in their fight for dignity and respect," said National President Hanley; moments after the highest court in the land upheld Ontario legislation that denies excludes agriculture workers in Ontario from collective bargaining rights. “We are disappointed but we are not deterred. We remain solidly committed to fight for Ontario agriculture workers until they have the same rights and protections like other Ontario workers," said the national president in the wake of the ruling on what is called the Fraser case.
Now, the Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights (CFLR) has released a report that summarizes the reaction and analysis of some of Canada's leading labour scholars, lawyers, and labour rights activists, who along with National President Hanley participated in a seminar about the Fraser decision.
The After Fraser report "is an important contribution to understanding the Fraser decision’s meaning for labour rights”, says University of Victoria Law Professor Judy Fudge, who is also a member of the CFLR board and author of a foreword to the report. "This report is part of a broader conversation about how to make labour rights a reality in Canada."
James Clancy, National President of NUPGE, also wrote a foreword warning readers that "the Court has signalled to the labour community that the constitutional protection of collective bargaining may be rolling back." NUPGE (the National Union of Public and General Employees) established the CFLR (http://www.labourrights.ca) in 2010 to raise public awareness and political momentum regarding labour rights.
As National President Hanley told the CFLR seminar, the decision by the Supreme Court in the Fraser case was a "wake up" call for all unions and workers that collective bargaining rights are threatened; a threat that can only countered by political action to support and elect
worker-friendly representatives and governments.
