News

Human Rights, the Charter and Unions – Past Struggles and New Frontiers

The 2015 CALL/ACAMS Annual Conference will once again present a comprehensive, critical and timely review of legal issues of significance to all those who represent, and provide legal counsel to, trade unions. The Conference will feature many of the country’s leading labour lawyers and academics, including practitioners who have argued the cases we will be discussing. We will have a mixture of plenaries and workshops, with simultaneous interpretation in both French and English for all sessions.

2015 marks the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the equality provisions of the Charter, and just over 30 years since the Report on Employment Equity by Justice Rosalie Abella. As well, the Canadian Museum of Human Rights has recently opened in Winnipeg, our host city in 2015. The Theme for the 2015 Conference will be Human Rights, the Charter and Unions – Past Struggles and New Frontiers.

Our topics will include:

• Constitutional Update – the new “Trilogy”
• Rights of the Transgender Worker 
• Labour Rights are Human Rights – hosted by the International Labour Relations Committee
• Pay Equity Update
• Individual Claimants and Trade Unions– Workers Compensation, Health and Safety, Human Rights, Employment Standards
• 10 Minute Labour Lawyer - Case Law and Legislative Review
• Dispatches from the Ivory Tower – Recent Developments in Academic Labour Law
• Effective Use of Expert Witnesses in Labour and Human Rights Proceedings
• How to Stage an Intervention – in Court or before a Tribunal
• TWO Professionalism and Ethics Workshops [3 hours total] - for Continuing Legal Education Purposes (Accreditation approval pending) 

The conference runs from June 11th - 14th, 2015. Join us at Winnipeg’s historic and haunted Hotel Fort Garry with late-day registration and a reception on the evening of Thursday, June 11, 2015.

Conference sessions run all day Friday, Saturday, and adjourn promptly at noon on Sunday. 

Just a quick update let you know that the CALL Council has unanimously accepted the recommendation of the National Labour Rights Committee (NLRC) of CALL to retain counsel and seek to intervene in the application for Judicial Review bring brought by Trinity Western University against the decision of the Law Society of Upper Canada to decline to accredit the TWU proposed law school. The notice to potential intervenors is attached for your information. 

We have retained Susan Ursel from Ursel, Phillips, Fellows, Hopkinson LLP to represent us on this matter. The Court has directed that all applications for intervention will be heard in Toronto on September 3, 2014 and I will send further reports to the membership as this matter progresses. 

I also wanted to remind you that there are opportunities to participate in CALL / ACAMS throughout the year. For example, if you would like to help the conference agenda committee plan the program for the next annual conference, send a quick email to me or to Craig Flood so that we can include you when those discussions begin in September. You can also contact the Chairs of any of the other committees if you are interested in getting more involved in them. 

If you become aware of any litigation, legislative changes or policy issues that you feel CALL should consider getting involved in, please bring it to the attention of any of the NLRC members or myself for consideration by the committee which sits as needed, including on an urgent basis. As well, it would be helpful to have a ready list of lawyers and/or law firms who are willing to represent CALL /  ACAMS as matters that require representation arise. Please send an email to Melissa Kronick if you or your firm is willing to be considered for future matters. 

Click here to view the Notice to the Public re interventions 

Leanne Chahley
President