Education back-to-work legislation debated in early Ontario legislation session

Members of Ontario’s legislature met in a rare early morning session to debate a bill that would ban education workers from striking.

The bill would impose a contract on education workers.

In a rare early morning session at Queen's Park, MPPs are debating a bill that would impose a contract on education workers and ban them from striking. This comes a few days after CUPE announced it would be in a legal strike position Friday@morninglive @CHCHNews

— Em Tayler (@EmilyNTayler) November 1, 2022

The Canadian Union of Public Employees said the 55,000 education workers it presents would go into full strike on Friday.

The Progressive Conservative government ordered the legislature back at 5 a.m. to speed up the process of passing the bill.

CUPE says it will stage a walkout on Friday despite the legislation. It’s not clear if it would be for more than one day.

CUPE has said they will explore every avenue to fight the bill.

However, the government said it plans to use the notwithstanding clause to keep the eventual law in force even if any constitutional challenges arise.

The clause allows the legislature to override portions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term.