Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Canada (Ratification: 1972)

Article 2 of the Convention. Right to organize. 1. The Committee notes the oral information provided by the Government representative to the Conference Committee in June 2004 and the discussion that took place thereafter. It notes, in particular from the statement made by the Government representative, that the exclusion of members of the medical, dental, architectural, legal and engineering professions, as well privately employed domestics, from the scope of labour relations law extends to "a few Canadian jurisdictions". The Committee requests the Government to specify in its next report whether the exclusion of these categories of workers from the right to organize is limited to Ontario (see comments on this issue in the Committee’s observation, 2005) or on the contrary, extends to other provinces, and to identify the relevant jurisdictions and legislative provisions.

2. The Committee notes from the comments made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in 2004, as well as the latest Government report, that recently enacted legislation in Quebec [Act Modifying the Act on Health and Social Services (L.Q., 2003, c. 12) and Act modifying the Act on early childhood centres and other nursery services (L.Q., 2003, c. 13)] provides that persons acting as "intermediary resources" of "family-type resources" are excluded from the definition of salaried employees in the Labour Code and identifies the criteria which allow these persons to be represented by associations. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report the specific categories of employees concerned by these provisions and the criteria which allow them to establish and join organizations of their own choosing.