Towards a Civil Republican Reading of the Charter?

The Example of Freedom of Association

Abstract

The evolution of freedom of association in Canada reflects a fundamental tension relating to the application of a classically liberal instrument (the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) to a private relationship (i.e., employment). To resolve this tension, the Supreme Court of Canada engaged in a series of dialogues which eventually shifted the application of the Charter from an application typical of a liberal bill of rights to one closer to a civic republican instrument. This new interpretation is consistent with Anderson and Pettit’s view of the workplace as a site of (republican) unfreedom. This article explores that tension through an examination of the Court’s jurisprudence on freedom of association.