A new ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal means RCMP officers have lost their latest bid to form an official union.

The appeal court sided with the Harper government in upholding a section of the RCMP regulations, which sets up an independent system for Mounties to meet with management to settle work-related issued.

This system, according to the court’s ruling, takes the place of the interaction a union would generally have with management when settling a dispute.

An estimated 3,000 Mounties across Canada have set up independent labour associations, but these have not been recognized by management as legitimate labour unions.