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McGill Faculty File Court Challenge to Overturn Quebec’s Bill 89

They argue granting the labour minister strike-curbing powers constitutes a constitutional breach that imperils academic self-governance.

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Four McGill University faculty associations have filed a court challenge against Quebec’s Bill 89, arguing the provincial legislation violates the constitutional right to strike.

Overview

  • On August 5, four McGill faculty associations representing more than 500 academics filed a judicial review in Quebec Superior Court seeking to invalidate Bill 89, marking the first major legal test of the law.
  • Bill 89, adopted May 29, gives the labour minister broad authority to restrict strikes deemed harmful to the public.
  • The challenge invokes the Supreme Court’s 2015 Saskatchewan Federation of Labour ruling, which recognized the right to strike as an irreducible minimum of freedom of association.
  • Faculty warn that empowered service-requirement mandates during disputes could erode universities’ academic independence.
  • They contend that removing strike leverage tilts collective bargaining in favour of employers by stripping workers of their primary negotiating tool.