Ontario court set to release Bill 124 appeal decision

The Ontario Court of Appeal will release its ruling over the Ford government’s controversial wage restraint legislation on Monday.

The law, known as Bill 124, was introduced by the Ford government in 2019 and capped public sector salary increases at one per cent per year over a three-year period.

It was the cause of large protests and significant backlash from unions representing the workers who had their wages held below the rate of inflation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, nursing groups pointed to the law as a reason many were leaving the profession.

A collection of labour groups won a legal challenge in late 2022, with an Ontario court throwing out the law as unconstitutional, a decision the Ford government appealed.

The ongoing appeal has not stopped a range of unions from winning backpay disputes with the provincial government.

Workers, including civil servants, hospital workers and faculty staff at colleges, have all been awarded retroactive pay increases since the law was thrown out.

The result of the appeal will be posted to the Court of Appeal’s website on Monday, Feb. 12.

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