Brian Langille on the Distinction Between Rights and Freedoms

In an entry earlier this week, I posted a new article by Professors Ewing and Bogg discussing “freedom of association” and expressing concern about the direction of the Canadian Supreme Court’s interpretation of it in Ontario v. Fraser.   As I noted, much of that paper is devoted to challenging what the authors call the ‘thin’  interpretation of ‘freedom of association’, which they associate with Professor Brian Langille and Justice Rothstein.
Brian Langille has sent along to me an article soon to be published in the Dalhousie Law Journal in which he explains why he believes the distinction between “rights” and “freedoms” is so important, and what import this has for labour law and the Charter.
Here is Brian’s Dalhousie Law Journal piece
The article is the content of a keynote speech by Brian in honour of Innis Christie, and is not a response to Ewing & Bogg.   Brian hasn’t read their paper yet, but this speech by Brian does set out the framework of Brian’s position that was critiqued in the Ewing/Bogg piece.  A very interesting and complex discussion by some of the world’s leading labour law minds.