1 Here, I am omitting the 231 applications filed by the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), which, as mentioned earlier, is widely known to be an employer-friendly union. Its applications for certification tend to be encouraged by the employer, and then, once certified, it negotiates substandard contracts. As a result, its applications for certification often go unopposed by the employer and cannot be said to reflect true organizing activity.

2 Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v. United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401, 2013 SCC 62, [2013] 3 SCR 733, https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/13334/index.do.

3 Health Services and Support – Facilities Subsector Bargaining Assn. v. British Columbia, 2007 SCC 27, [2007] 2 SCR 391, https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/2366/index.do.

4 Alberta’s attorney general subsequently requested a judicial review of the decision: see Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, Alberta (Attorney General) v. United Food and Commerical Workers Union, Local No. 401, 2010 ABQB 455. The judge struck down one technical aspect of the ruling but confirmed the core of the decision. To date, the matter has not been pursued further in the courts, nor was the Labour Relations Code formally amended in the immediate wake of the November 2009 ruling. Labour lawyers in Alberta simply acted as if a Rand formula requirement is written into the Labour Relations Code. Labour Code amendments passed in 2017 finally enshrined Rand formula provisions as a requirement in all collecctive agreements.