Six Nations Firefighters win right to form a union

Six Nations Fire station (Photo by Jim C. Powless)

By Lynda Powless Editor After an almost three-year legal fight with the Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) the Six Nations Fire Fighters have won the right to form a union. The Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) rendered a unanimous decision Jan. 21, dismissing SNEC’s claim it had an Aboriginal right to regulate labour relations around fire services. Instead, the board said there is no Aboriginal right pursuant to section 35(1) of the Constitution Act that is incompatible with the application of the code. In its decision the Board found the employer failed to demonstrate that it has the Aboriginal right, (pursuant to section 35(1) of the Constitution Act), to regulate labour relations in the area of fire services. As a result, the Board dismissed the employer’s preliminary objection and found…

This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription – Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.
Register
Already a member? Log in here

Add Your Voice

Is there more to this story? We'd like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Contribute your voice on our contribute page.