under federal and provincial labour legislation, appear to be able to make and join associations and trade unions. Furthermore, stateless persons who would be within the definition of “employees” under federal and provincial labour legislation appear to be afforded protection at least as favourably as Canadian nationals. Therefore, based on a review of Canadian constitutional law and key federal and provincial labour laws, it appears that the Canadian legal framework is compatible with Article 15 of the 1954 Convention. As a practical matter, stateless persons may not be in position to exercise their Article 15 rights. In particular, stateless persons who are in possession of a work permit because they are subject to an unenforceable removal order and are unable to meet their basic needs, and stateless persons who have their work permit connected to a specific employer, may be fearful of joining or forming a trade union due to their precarious circumstances and the potential repercussions from their employer.177 IV. 9) Recommendations In support of Recommendation #5, further research should examine the circumstances and the practical obstacles stateless persons experience in exercising their freedom of association rights enshrined in the Canadian legal framework and Article 15 of the 1954 Convention. ARTICLE 16: ACCESS TO COURTS 1. A stateless person shall have free access to the courts of law on the territory of all Contracting States. 2. A stateless person shall enjoy in the Contracting State in which he has his habitual residence the same treatment as a national in matters pertaining to access to the courts, including legal assistance and exemption from cautio judicatum solvi. 3. A stateless person shall be accorded in the matters referred to in paragraph 2 in countries other than that in which he has his habitual residence the treatment granted to a national of the country of his habitual residence. I. Background & Commentary Article 16 of the 1954 Convention replicates Article 16 of the 1951 Refugee Convention. At the time of drafting the 1954 Convention, it was common practice for States to grant foreigners the right to appear before courts of law as plaintiffs or defendants.178 However, in order to avoid the 177 Stateless persons who are in “precarious” situations may be disproportionately represented in occupations that do not have the same freedom of association rights as other workers, such as agricultural workers. However, this is a practical issue that could be studied in more detail in the future following appropriate surveys of stateless persons in Canada. 178 Robinson Commentary to the 1954 Convention, supra note 11 at 37. 36