Freedom of Association

• Author: Hon. Robert J. Sharpe/Kent Roach
• Profession: Court of Appeal for Ontario- Faculty of Law University of Toronto
• Pages: 168-176

CHAP TER 10

FR EEDOM OF

ASSOCIATION

Freedom of association, guaranteed by section 2(d) of the Charter of

Rights and Freedoms, protects the right of individuals to come together

to form a wide array of organi zations and relationships, including those

with political, relig ious, and social purposes. The difficult t hreshold is-

sue for the courts has been whether the guarantee not only recognizes

the right of individuals to come together in an organization but also

confers constitutional protection on the activities essential to ensure

the association’s meaningful existence.

Nowhere has the issue of the scope of the guarantee of freedom of

association been more hotly debated th an with respect to the institu-

tions and practices of collective bargaining. Most of the case law on

section 2(d) deals with labour relations, es pecially in t he public sector.

If section 2(d) protects only the right to come together and form an as-

sociation, its importance is relatively modest. On t he other hand, if it

were held also to protect the essential activities of the group, it would

have enormous impact, particularly in the realm of labour relations.

Another important issue for the collective bargaining regime is wheth-

er freedom of association includes the r ight to refuse to be associated

with a group or its views and policies. Does section 2(d) include the

right to join the trade union of one’s choice, or to refuse to join a union

or pay it dues?

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