Wal-Mart had right to close Que. store, top court rules

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada says Wal-Mart was entitled to close a store in Quebec in 2005 just as employees were about to unionize.

The highest court in the country ruled in a 6-3 margin today the multinational had the right to shut down the outlet about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City and lay off 190 employees.

Most lower courts that ruled on the case also sided with the commercial giant.

During the Supreme Court hearings early this year, the company denied it fired its employees because they had just formed a union.

The company said they were let go simply because the store was shutting down.

But workers at the outlet said the two events were related.

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  Pierre Martineau, left, and Patrice Bergeron, two of the Wal-Mart workers who initiated the unionization, stand in front of their workplace, a Wal-Mart department store, Tuesday Sept. 28, 2004 in Jonquiere, Que. (CP PHOTO/Jacques Boissinot)