XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ab.politics   
   XPost: sk.politics, man.politics, mtl.general   
   From: puela@nyet.ca   
      
   You bet . . . .  and still another loss for Harper's lousy government.   
   _______________________________   
     — CP — Jan 16 2015   
      
      
   Mounties have right to bargain: court   
      
      
   OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada gave rank-and-file RCMP members a major   
   morale boost Friday when it affirmed their right to engage in meaningful   
   collective bargaining.   
      
   The high court did not explicitly state that the Mounties have the right to   
   form a union, but the justices effectively cleared a path to that possibility.   
      
   The landmark 6-1 ruling gives the federal government a year to create a new   
   labour relations scheme, setting the stage for talks among RCMP members,   
   Commissioner Bob Paulson and the Harper government.   
      
   The Supreme Court overturned a previous ruling of its own from the 1990s which   
   upheld an exclusion that barred the Mounties from forming unions like federal   
   public servants, who gained the right to collective bargaining in the late   
   1960s.   
      
   The high court says that overturning its precedent "is not a step to be lightly   
   taken," but in this case it was justified because case law has evolved since it   
   ruled in 1999, when it was dealing with a narrower issue.   
      
   Friday's decision was written by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and Justice   
   Louis LeBel and will ultimately affect officers across the country.   
      
   The case is a major win for RCMP members, some of whom were seen hugging in the   
   foyer of the Supreme Court building after the ruling was released.   
      
   "Today is an awesome day for all members in the RCMP," said Ray Banwarie,   
   president of the Mounted Police Professional Association of Canada.  "It is   
   also a great day for Canada — it's a great day for democracy in this   
   country."   
      
   Banwarie said RCMP members want to work together with management to address a   
   "myriad" of issues facing the force, including resources, pay, benefits and   
   equipment and grievances that have not been addressed for over a decade.   
      
   One major issue is a class-action lawsuit against the force, alleging years of   
   harassment and discrimination, in which some 300 serving and retired female   
   RCMP officers and civilian employees are taking part. The suit has yet to be   
   certified by a court.   
      
   Such points of conflict could be more easily resolved if the interests of RCMP   
   members were properly represented, Banwarie said.   
      
   In recent years, the national police force has been beset by internal   
   complaints of harassment and bullying.  A new law has streamlined the process,   
   giving supervisors more power to deal with disputes promptly, but some critics   
   fear that will lead to abuses.   
      
   Laura Young, the lead lawyer for the appellants, said the ruling opens the door   
   for the RCMP to unionize and removes a process that was "foisted" by management   
   on RCMP members and silenced them.   
      
   "We hope now to move ahead with a very positive process," she said.   
      
   Banwarie said RCMP members want to form a "police association," not a union.   
      
   Jason Tamming, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, whose   
   department oversees the RCMP, would only say the government would study the   
   ruling.   
      
   Treasury Board President Tony Clement would be taking the lead for the   
   government in any future talks, he added.   
      
   The Supreme Court said excluding the Mounties from collective bargaining   
   violates their charter right to freedom of association, but it does not dictate   
   a specific labour relations regime that should be applied to the RCMP.   
      
   The court says the Mounties have to be sufficiently independent to have some   
   meaningful form of collective bargaining with management.   
      
   Currently, RCMP officers have voluntary associations funded by members' dues   
   that work with management to establish pay and benefits, but top brass   
   maintains full control over the final result.   
      
   The ruling comes in one of two cases that the court was asked to revisit.   
      
   In the second case, the court dismissed an appeal by two RCMP officers who   
   challenged a government decision to roll back three years of wage increases   
   that were agreed to before the onset of 2008 global financial crisis.   
      
   The court upheld the decision by former finance minister Jim Flaherty to bring   
   in wage-restraint legislation that reduced RCMP pay raises from 2008 to 2010.   
      
   But the main case, brought by the Mounted Police Association of Ontario and the   
   British Columbia Mounted Police Professional Association on behalf of the   
   entire national police force, opens the door for RCMP to unionize, and engage   
   in collective bargaining.   
      
   The court doesn't specify what sort of labour relations model should be put in   
   place for the Mounties.   
      
   "This court has consistently held that freedom of association does not   
   guarantee a particular model of labour relations," the ruling said.   
      
   "What is required is not a particular model, but a regime that does not   
   substantially interfere with meaningful collective bargaining."   
      
   The justices dismissed the argument by the federal government that preventing   
   the RCMP from engaging in collective bargaining was warranted to prevent its   
   members from   
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   engaging in a "an unlawful strike or other debilitating job action."   
   ___________________________________________________________________   
      
   On 1/13/2015 1:36 PM,  (=_=) wrote:   
   > I'm betting they're going to win their case.  And WE, as a citizenry, will be   
   > better off for it.   
   >   
   > Unions give employees an avenue to file grievances on major issues affecting   
   > their lives or their workplace conditions.   
   > Female police officers will no longer have their sexual assault or sexual   
   > harassment complaints ignored.   
   > Unsafe working conditions, biased and incompetent management, and improper   
   > training will be addressed.   
   >   
   >  From the public's standpoint, incompetent police officers will be subject to   
   > reviews under scrutiny of union representatives as well as supervisors - and   
   > much less likely to be protected from discipline by just being shuffled off   
   to   
   > another town or city to cover up their actions.   
   >   
   > Good luck to all of us with this Supreme Court decision.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)