Dunmore et al. v. Ontario (Attorney General) et al., (1997) 47 O.T.C. 53 (GD)

• Judge: Sharpe, J.
• Court: Ontario Court of Justice General Division (Canada)
• Case Date: December 09, 1997
• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Citations: (1997), 47 O.T.C. 53 (GD)

Dunmore v. Ont. (A.G.) (1997), 47 O.T.C. 53 (GD)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [1997] O.T.C. TBEd. DE.123

Tom Dunmore, Salame Abdul Hamid and Walter Lumsden and Michael Doyle, on their behalf and on behalf of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (applicants) v. Attorney General for the Province of Ontario and Highline Produce Limited, Kingsville Mushroom Farm Inc. and Fleming Chicks (respondents)

(Court File No. 5958/95)

Indexed As: Dunmore et al. v. Ontario (Attorney General) et al.

Ontario Court of Justice

General Division

Sharpe, J.

December 9, 1997.

Summary:

Agricultural workers were excluded from Ontario's statutory labour relations regime. The applicants challenged that exclusion on the grounds that it violated ss. 2(d) (freedom of association) and 15 (equality) of the Charter.

The Ontario Court (General Division) dismissed the application. The legislation did not deny the applicants the right to form a trade union (s. 2(d)). While the legislation did not give agricultural workers the right to bargain collectively, that right was not Charter protected. Further, s. 15 was not violated because agricultural workers were not discriminated against on an enumerated or analogous ground (s. 15(1)).

Civil Rights - Topic 2144.1

Freedom of association - Limitations on - Collective bargaining and employer or employee groups - See paragraphs 22 to 31.

Civil Rights - Topic 8672

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Equality rights (s. 15) - Analogous categories - See paragraphs 32 to 52.

Cases Noticed:

RJR-MacDonald Inc. et Imperial Tobacco Ltd. v. Canada (Procureur général), [1994] 1 S.C.R. 311; 164 N.R. 1; 60 Q.A.C. 241; 111 D.L.R.(4th) 385; 54 C.P.R.(3d) 114, refd to. [para. 9].

Reference Re Compulsory Arbitration, [1987] 1 S.C.R. 313; 74 N.R. 99; 78 A.R. 1; 38 D.L.R.(4th) 161, refd to. [para. 22].

Reference Re Public Service Employee Relations Act (Alta.) - see Reference Re Compulsory Arbitration.

Public Service Alliance of Canada v. Canada, [1987] 1 S.C.R. 424; 75 N.R. 161, refd to. [para. 22].

Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, Locals 496, 544, 635 and 955 et al. v. Saskatchewan et al., [1987] 1 S.C.R. 460; 74 N.R. 321; 56 Sask.R. 277, refd to. [para. 22].

Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada v. Northwest Territories (Commissioner) et al., [1990] 2 S.C.R. 367; 112 N.R. 269; [1990] 5 W.W.R. 385, refd to. [para. 22].

Dolphin Delivery Ltd. v. Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, Local 580, Peterson and Alexander, [1986] 2 S.C.R. 573; 71 N.R. 83; 33 D.L.R.(4th) 174; [1987] 1 W.W.R. 577; 38 C.C.L.T. 184; 25 C.R.R. 321; 87 C.L.L.C. 14,002, appld. [para. 28].

Haig et al. v. Canada; Haig et al. v. Kingsley, [1993] 2 S.C.R. 995; 156 N.R. 81; 105 D.L.R.(4th) 577; 16 C.R.R.(2d) 193, refd to. [para. 30].

Native Women's Association of Canada et al. v. Canada et al., [1994] 3 S.C.R. 627; 173 N.R. 241; 119 D.L.R.(4th) 224, refd to. [para. 30].

Ferrell et al. v. Ontario (Attorney General), [1997] O.T.C. Uned. 037 (Gen. Div.), refd to. [para. 31].

Andrews v. Law Society of British Columbia, [1989] 1 S.C.R. 143; 91 N.R. 255; 56 D.L.R.(4th) 1, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Turpin, Siddiqui and Clauzel, [1989] 1 S.C.R. 1296; 96 N.R. 115; 34 O.A.C. 115; 48 C.C.C.(3d) 8; 69 C.R.(3d) 97; 39 C.R.R. 306, refd to. [para. 34].

Egan and Nesbit v. Canada, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 513; 182 N.R. 161; 12 R.F.L.(4th) 201; 124 D.L.R.(4th) 609, refd to. [para. 35].

Miron and Valliere v. Trudel et al., [1995] 2 S.C.R. 418; 181 N.R. 253; 81 O.A.C. 253; 124 D.L.R.(4th) 693; 13 R.F.L.(4th) 1, refd to. [para. 35].

Thibaudeau v. Minister of National Revenue, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 627; 182 N.R. 1; 124 D.L.R.(4th) 449, refd to. [para. 35].

Eldridge et al. v. British Columbia (Attorney General) (1997), 218 N.R. 161; 96 B.C.A.C. 81; 155 W.A.C. 81 (S.C.C.), refd to. [para. 35].

United States v. Carolene Products Co. (1938), 304 U.S. 144, refd to. [para. 37].

R. v. Swain, [1991] 1 S.C.R. 933; 125 N.R. 1; 47 O.A.C. 81; 63 C.C.C.(3d) 481, refd to. [para. 39].

Reference Re Sections 32 and 34 of the Worker's Compensation Act (Nfld.), [1989] 1 S.C.R. 922; 96 N.R. 227; 76 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 181; 235 A.P.R. 181; 56 D.L.R.(4th) 765, refd to. [para. 42].

Wolff (Rudolf) & Co. v. Canada, [1990] 1 S.C.R. 695; 106 N.R. 1; 39 O.A.C. 1, refd to. [para. 42].

Mirhadizadeh v. Ontario (1989), 34 O.A.C. 393; 69 O.R.(2d) 422 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 42].

Cosyns v. Canada (Attorney General) et al. (1992), 53 O.A.C. 127; 7 O.R.(3d) 641 (Div. Ct.), refd to. [para. 43].

Major v. Quebec (Procureur général), [1994] R.J.Q. No. 1622 (S.C.), refd to. [para. 43].

Lister et al. v. Ontario (Attorney General) (1990), 72 O.R.(2d) 354 (H.C.), refd to. [para. 43].

Ontario Public Service Employees Union v. National Citizens Coalition Inc. (1990), 38 O.A.C. 70; 74 O.R.(2d) 260 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 43].

Jones v. Ontario (Attorney General) (1992), 7 O.R.(3d) 22 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 43].

Rubin v. Canada (Attorney General) et al., [1990] 3 F.C. 642; 37 F.T.R. 152 (T.D.), refd to. [para. 43].

Masse v. Ontario (Minister of Community and Social Services) (1996), 89 O.A.C. 81; 134 D.L.R.(4th) 20 (Div. Ct.), refd to. [para. 49].

Dartmouth/Halifax County Regional Housing Authority v. Sparks (1993), 119 N.S.R.(2d) 91; 330 A.P.R. 91; 101 D.L.R.(4th) 224 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 51].

Statutes Noticed:

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982, sect. 2(d) [para. 22]; sect. 15(1) [para. 32].

Labour Relations Act, S.O. 1995, c. 1, sect. 3(b) [para. 3].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Adams, Canadian Labour Law (2nd Ed. 1996), pp. 6 to 50 [para. 8].

Bayefsky, A Case Comment on the First Three Equality Rights Cases Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1990), 1 Supreme Court L.R.(2d) 503, pp. 518, 519 [para. 49].

Beatty, Putting the Charter to Work: Designing a Constitutional Labour Code (1987), pp. 91, 92 [para. 8].

Beatty, The Canadian Conception of Equality (1996), 46 U.T.L.J. 349, generally [para. 49].

Canada, Canadian Industrial Relations: Report of the Task Force on Labour Relations (1968), generally [para. 8].

Jackman, Constitutional Contact with the Disparities in the World: Poverty as a Prohibited Ground of Discrimination Under the Canadian Charter and Human Rights Law (1994), 2 Review of Constitutional Studies 76, generally [para. 49].

Labour Law: Cases, Materials and Commentary (5th Ed.), p. 230 [para. 8].

Neilson and Christie, The Agricultural Labourer in Canada: A Legal Point of View (1975-76), 2 Dal. L.J. 330, generally [para. 8].

Ontario, Report of the Task Force on Agricultural Labour Relations: Report to the Minister of Labour (June 1992), generally [para. 2].

Counsel:

Chris G. Paliare and Martin J. Doane, for the applicants;

Richard J.K. Stewart and Jennifer August, for the Attorney General;

Alan D'Silva, for Fleming Chicks.

This application was heard on October 21, 22 and 23, 1997, by Sharpe, J., of the Ontario Court (General Division), who delivered the following decision on December 9, 1997.