Ontario’s Appeal Court rules Bill 124 unconstitutional

For immediate release: Feb 13, 2023

QUEEN’S PARK – MPP Bobbi Ann Brady is pleased Ontario’s Appeal Court has ruled Bill 124, Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019 to be unconstitutional. The legislation capped public sector wages at one per cent per year for three years.

Bill 124 angered labour groups and it seemed to target healthcare with critics, including Brady, complaining it was a factor in driving nurses out of the profession or into private nursing agencies.

In November 2022, Brady stood in the Ontario Legislature and implored the government to restore respect by scrapping Bill 124, which she deemed a bill that gutted our system of nurses. She stated at the time, “Health care workers have lost faith in their profession and have left. They continue to leave, and others have been sidelined. I haven’t seen any action with respect to enticing health care workers back to the front lines.”

Bill 124 was struck down in Lower Court as unconstitutional and the Appeal Court concurred, in a 2-1 decision, ruling that the infringement could not be justified.

“This bill created much friction and anxiety that we all knew was unnecessary and ultimately the court agreed with the dissenters,” Brady said.

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For more information, contact MPP Bobbi Ann Brady at [email protected] or 519-428-0446