On June 21, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada released a decision affirming that Ontario public school board teachers are protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”).
York Region District School Board v. Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, 2024 SCC 22 dealt with an appeal by two teachers employed by the Ontario public school board. The teachers had a private communication over a shared personal, password-protected log (the “Log”). When the school principal was made aware of the Log, he entered the classroom of one of the teachers when they were not present and took screenshots of the Log. These screenshots were used as a basis to issue written reprimands to the teachers.
The teachers’ union (the “Union”) grieved the reprimand, claiming that it violated the teachers right to privacy at work. They did not advance a section 8 Charter argument, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure. A labour arbitrator dismissed the grievance. The Union appealed the decision to a Divisional Court, but the arbitrator’s decision was upheld. The Union appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal, who unanimously quashed the decision. The Court of Appeal held that the principal’s search was unreasonable and contravened section 8 of the Charter. The school board appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal decision. Writing for the majority, Justice Rowe held that public school teachers are protected by section 8 of the Charter as school boards fall within the ambit of section 32, which identifies entities bound by the Charter. In this, the arbitrator erred by limiting the inquiry to the arbitral framework, and not the legal framework, which she was required to respect.
This decision serves as a reminder that entities governed by section 32 must ensure that they adhere to the Charter and its framework. For an in-depth analysis of the Supreme Court of Canada’s reasoning in this case, read the complete decision here.
