Ontario Appeal Court Declares Ford Government’s Bill 124 Unconstitutional, Protecting Public Sector Workers’ Rights

The Ontario Appeal Court ruled that Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government’s Bill 124, which imposed wage restraint on public sector workers, violated their collective bargaining rights and was unconstitutional. The law, enacted in 2019, capped salary increases for public sector workers to one per cent a year for three years. The court’s majority opinion highlighted that the law deprived organized public sector workers, many of whom are women, racialized, and/or low-income earners, of the ability to negotiate for better compensation or working conditions without monetary value.

Moreover, the Appeal Court emphasized that while governments are entitled to control compensation increases, the issue lies in how it is done. The court questioned the necessity of Bill 124, stating that wage restraint could have been achieved through good faith bargaining. The ruling has been celebrated by unions representing health-care workers and public servants, who see it as a victory for workers’ rights and a call for the government to respect the collective bargaining process and not undermine workers’ democratic rights in the future