Supreme Court rules Ontario public school boards are subject to Charter of Rights

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday that public school boards in Ontario are an arm of government and cannot «disavow their constitutional obligations» under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, regardless of the terms in a collective agreement.

The court delivered the ruling after hearing a case involving two public school teachers in Ontario who alleged their rights under section eight of the Charter — which protects them from «unreasonable search or seizure» — were violated by their school principal and board.

«Lower courts have analyzed whether the Charter applies to school boards and have drawn different conclusions,» the court said. «The time has come to determine whether the Charter applies to Ontario public school boards.»

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that «public education is inherently a governmental function» and «has a unique constitutional quality» because the Charter applies when government is involved.

While this decision likely will inform lower courts across the country in future decisions, the seven Supreme Court justices who heard the case did not examine how other provinces structure their public school boards, so the court said Friday's ruling only «relates to Ontario public school boards.»

The case stems from an incident involving two teachers and the actions of their principal at a school in the York Region District School Board in the 2014-15 academic year.

According to an earlier Ontario Court of Appeal Ruling, which contains a more detailed history of the case, Grade 2 teachers at the Mount Joy Public School had concerns that one of their colleagues was getting preferential treatment.

One of the teachers, referred to in the ruling only as Ms. Shen, approached her union with the information and