Charter of Rights & Freedoms: Part 1 – Protecting Freedoms on the Picket Line
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM PST Maritime Labour Centre 111 Victoria Drive Vancouver, BC V5L 4C4
In Person at the Maritime Labour Centre
Charter 1 examines how the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the ability of unions to strike and picket. Participants will learn how the law is applied by the Courts and the Labour Relations Board to allow or restrict picketing at primary, secondary, and common sites. Every union representative organizing a picket line need to know how and why the Supreme Court of Canada has recognized that picketing is protected by Freedom of expression and striking is protected by Freedom of association. The purpose of this course is to enable unions to run picket lines with maximum effectiveness while minimizing the opportunities for employers to bring legal action against unions.
Facilitators: Craig Bavis & Rebecca Kantwerg, Victory Square Law Office
Craig Bavis has been a Partner at Victory Square Law Office since 2005. Craig has extensive experience in advising and representing unions in mediation, arbitrations and at Labour Relations Board hearings. He has appeared in all levels of court up to the BC Court of Appeal and Federal Court of Appeal. Craig primarily represents unions in the public and private sector across British Columbia in labour matters. Craig also works in Saskatchewan where he is involved in Charter litigation.
Rebecca Kantwerg (she/they) joined the firm as an associate in 2018, after articling and working in-house for a large union in British Columbia. Rebecca has represented clients at numerous mediations, and has appeared before labour arbitrators, the BC Labour Relations Board, the BC Human Rights Tribunal, the Canada Human Rights Tribunal, the Canada Industrial Relations Board, the BC Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court of Appeal. Rebecca also has experience intervening in matters at the BC Court of Appeal and responding in BC Supreme Court to last minute applications for injunctions against picketing and protesting.