Are U.S. style, anti-union campaigns now permitted in British Columbia?
If RMH is taken to be the law in British Columbia, employer campaigns may very well be permitted. The Board has not traditionally permitted employer campaigns against unions. The Board affirmed its policy (and the policy of all other labour boards in Canada) most recently in Cardinal/Klassen (1996), 34 CLRBR (2d) 1: The longstanding policy of this Board and other labour boards in Canada is that an employer is not entitled to engage in an anti-union political-style campaign in an effort to prevent the union from certifying. The greatest point of resistance by employers to trade unions is at the initial point of employees attempting to exercise their statutory choice in favour of collective bargaining. A statutory choice has been made to restrict employer speech at this point in favour of ensuring employees’ freedom of association. An employer’s vigorous presentation of its anti-union views may be reasonably perceived by most employees as one that is not “safe to thwart”. The American ex
