Quebec labour code doesn’t infringe rights of casino managers, Supreme Court rules

Apr 19, 2024 | 8:47 AM

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada says excluding front-line supervisors at a Montreal casino from organizing under the Quebec labour-relations regime does not infringe their constitutional rights.

In a ruling today, the top court says barring managers from the regime under a provision of the Quebec labour code is not a violation of their Charter guarantee of freedom of association.

Seventy per cent of the operation supervisors assigned to gaming tables at Casino de Montréal were members of an association that filed a petition for certification in 2009.

As part of the petition, the association asked that the exclusion of managerial personnel from the definition of “employee” in the provincial labour code be declared “constitutionally inoperative.”

It successfully argued before a tribunal that the provision infringed the freedom of association guaranteed by the Charter of Rights.

The Quebec Superior Court allowed an application for judicial review from the employer, Société des casinos du Québec, on the basis there were several errors in the administrative ruling.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press

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