Ontario Premier Doug Ford spent considerable time Wednesday trying to shut the door on Bill 124, claiming it “doesn’t exist” while his government continues to appeal a court ruling that struck down the legislation.
“Let me be very clear about the people there. You can hear whatever, Bill 124 is repealed,” Ford told reporters at his first press conference of 2023.
Two weeks earlier, the Ontario government formally filed an appeal against a court ruling that found Bill 124 — a law that limits pay increases for most public sector workers to one per cent over three years — unconstitutional. A November 29 ruling found that the bill violated the applicants’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
The same day, the Ford government indicated it would appeal the decision.
The government argued that the court “erred in holding that the financial impact of the Act’s limitations on compensation increases substantially interfered with defendant’s rights to a meaningful collective bargaining process.”
They also claim the judge mischaracterized the reason Bill 124 was introduced to begin with, which they say was to manage the province’s finances.
The prime minister reiterated that argument on Wednesday.
“I always have to be a prudent fiscal manager with the taxpayers’ money,” Ford said. “We just can’t be out there spending recklessly while people are working behind their backs.” They are taxed to the brim right now. They can’t just hand it out, so we have to take everything into account.”
Earlier this year, the Financial Accountability Office found that the government could have to pay about $8.4 billion in wages if the legal challenge goes in favor of the workers.
However, if the appeal is successful, the province will save about $9.7 billion in wages from 2019 to 2025-2027 by both union and non-union employees.
Ford was questioned about Bill 124 amid media reports that the government is aware the legislation could contribute negatively to the health care staffing crisis. He claimed the claim was “inaccurate” as more than 60,000 nurses had been recruited since 2018.
However, Liberal MPP Dr. Adil Shamji says that while nurses are being recruited, many are also leaving the profession.
“You can pour water into a bucket, but as long as there are huge holes in the bottom that allow the water to drain out, that bucket will never be full,” he told CTV News Toronto.
“Nurses, as quickly as they are brought in, leave just as quickly.”
Shamji added that Bill 124, despite what the prime minister said on Wednesday, was still “in force”.
“There will be negotiations with the health care unions, which I understand will take place under Bill 124,” he said. “The effects of this legislation will continue to reverberate for years to come.”
“The right thing to do is number one, not take it to the courts. And number two, cancel it immediately.
Unions representing healthcare workers have been pushing for better working conditions and pay amid staff shortages for most of the pandemic. Ford said Wednesday that his government is looking at ways to ease that burden by having “independent health centers with the same standards” do some of the work.
“People don’t care where they have to go as long as the rules are the same. The same first-rate doctors who work at the hospital … and come up with simple things,” Ford said.
“These are not smart people who are left behind in the health care system.”
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