Ontario Court of Appeals confirms Bill 124 is unconstitutional.
On 12 February 2024, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a decision that the wage-restraint legislation known as Bill 124 was unconstitutional. In a majority decision, the court affirmed a 2022 ruling which found that Bill 124 interfered with the freedom of association guarantee under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Ontario Court of Appeal also found that, as a result of Bill 124, “organized public sector workers, many of whom are women, racialized and/or low-income earners, have lost the ability to negotiate for better compensation or even better work conditions that do not have a monetary value.”
First introduced in 2019, Bill 124 capped salary increases for public sector workers at one per cent a year for three years. In practical terms, Bill 124 amounted to wage cuts for thousands of workers as inflation outpaced their wage increases. Throughout the pandemic, this meant that while Doug Ford praised frontline heroes on one hand, with the other he reached into their pockets and stole their wages. The result was unnecessary financial hardship and stress for thousands of workers as well as staffing shortages and burnout.
From the moment that Bill 124 was first introduced, a coalition of unions including COPE Ontario began work to challenge this unfair legislation and to tell Doug Ford to keep his hands off of our wages. Through petitions, email campaigns, op-eds, press conferences and more, we have worked tirelessly to bring an end to this legislation.
In response to the Ontario Court of Appeal decision, the Ford government has said that it will not be challenging the decision but, instead, will be repealing Bill 124. Let us be clear: the decision to repeal Bill 124 would not have occurred without our sustained efforts. Today marks a huge victory for workers and sends a clear message to Doug Ford that the workers united will never be defeated.
COPE Ontario reaffirms our commitment to supporting workers and challenging these unconstitutional attacks on workers. We will continue to work together with our members, union comrades and activists to ensure that workers are treated fairly and equitably. Together, we have shown that when the labour movement comes together, we have a strong voice and can make change.
