(Ottawa) The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Ontario public school board teachers are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms against unreasonable searches and seizures in their workplace.
The country’s highest court ruled Friday in the case of two teachers who were reprimanded after a digital log of their work-related concerns was discovered.
The case began during the 2014-15 school year when a second-grade teacher in York Region began keeping a password-protected personal journal.
The union filed a grievance over these written reprimands, claiming the school board violated its employees’ privacy rights.
An arbitrator rejected the grievance. The decision was upheld by an Ontario court, but it was later overturned by the province’s Court of Appeal.