The applicants, independent private associations of RCMP members, challenged the constitutionality of provisions excluding RCMP members from the Public Service Labour Relations Act and establishing the Staff Relations Representative Program (SRRP).
The application judge found that the SRRP violated s. 2(d) of the Charter.
The Court of Appeal allowed the Attorney General's appeal, holding that s. 2(d) protects the right to collective bargaining only in a derivative sense, and it was not effectively impossible for RCMP members to meaningfully exercise their freedom of association.
The cross-appeal regarding freedom of expression and the exclusion from the PSLRA was dismissed.
