Ford argues the legislation doesn't infringe on collective bargaining
The Ontario government's challenge to the unconstitutional ruling on Bill 124 entered the appellate court this week, according to reports.
Premier Doug Ford's government introduced Bill 124 in 2019 to cap the wage increases of Ontario Public Service employees at one percent, effective for a three-year moderation period.
It was declared unconstitutional by the Superior Court of Justice in 2022, which pointed out that Ontario "was not facing a situation in 2019 that justified an infringement on Charter rights."
According to the ruling from Justice Markus Koehnen, the legislation also infringed on the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
The Ontario government is now challenging the ruling, arguing that the court "erred in holding that the financial impact of the Act's limits on the compensation increases substantially interferes with the respondent's rights to a meaningful process of collective bargaining," CTV News reported.
Ford on Tuesday also said that the intention of the bill was to "respect the taxpayers' money," The Canadian Press reported.
"We're going to get a fair deal for the frontline workers, but always respecting the taxpayers, making sure that we're prudent fiscal managers," Ford said as quoted by the outlet.
Billions at stake
Ford's remarks came as the three-day hearing on the government's appeal began on Tuesday, and reports are saying that billions of wages are at stake.
If the court upholds the previous ruling, the province will owe public sector workers about $8.4 billion over the next five years, according to the province's fiscal watchdog, as reported by The Canadian Press.
The province has so far paid about $1 billion to workers who reopened their contracts following the ruling, the report added.
Hospital workers recently won pay hikes of 3.75% for last year and 2.5% this year following the unconstitutional ruling on Bill 124, the Toronto Star reported.
Unifor assured that this ruling will remain in effect while the government appeals it. It also remained firm that the ruling should stay.
"We say the decision of the Superior Court should stand. Bill 124 is a blatant and insulting denial of workers’ rights of freedom of association and meaningful collective bargaining, and has done significant damage to workers’ wellbeing and our public services," Unifor said on its website.
