Only rarely will the Supreme Court rule on a Charter issue of importance from the bench. And that is what has happened today. The Court has overturned the British Columbia Court of Appeal’s ruling, and reinstated the determination of the trial judge. In a previous post, I had commented on the Court of Appeal decision.

The case will no doubt be appealed to the Supreme Court where yet another discussion about the refurbished freedom of association will ensue. The careful discussion by the Chief Justice and Justice Harris (as well as by the dissenting judgment of Justice Donald), dissecting the importance of good faith consultation and discussions with collective representatives from the equally important legislative capacity to impose one or more labour provisions for the sake of public policies, including fiscal prudence, will be of great assistance to that Court when considering just how far the Charter value for associational freedom should go when faced by a government making decisions about such things as educational policy (size of classes and curriculum as examples) and the public purse.

Well, I sure was wrong: the Supreme Court evidently had enough careful discussion and wanted direct action. I will report more on this when a copy of the oral ruling becomes available.

I remain

Constitutionally yours,

Arthur Grant