Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen declared Bill 124 to be void and of no effect, ruling it strips workers of their constitutional right to collective bargaining
. Ontario’s Attorney-General Doug Downey is reviewing the decision and intends to appeal, government spokesperson Andrew Kennedy said in a statement.
Ontario posted a surplus of $2.1-billion in 2021-22, its first since 2007-08, after initially projecting a deficit upward of $30-billion. Opposition parties and unions called out the government for limiting wages while bringing in more revenue than anticipated. In its written submission for the court challenge, the provincial government argued the legislation didn’t violate the Charter because it was time-limited and allowed bargaining on other matters. The province said the bill was needed to rein in Ontario’s finances without cutting services, laying off workers or raising taxes.
Mr. Barrett said the province’s plan to appeal shouldn’t prolong any compensation decisions by Justice Koehnen at the Superior Court level with the bill no longer in effect.Ontario’s Financial Accountability Officer Peter Weltman released a report in September projecting the province would owe $8.4-billion through 2026-27 to make up for the lost wage increases, including $2.1-billion retroactively this fiscal year.
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