Ford government appeals court decision striking down Bill 124

The Ontario government is appealing a court decision that struck down a labour law restricting salary increases for public-sector workers.

Bill 124 was initially introduced in 2019, a law that limited salary boosts for hundreds of thousands at one per cent per year over a three-year period.

The notice of appeal was filed in Ontario’s top court on Thursday.

The Ford government argues the judge made a mistake in ruling that Bill 124 breaches the applicants’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

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Justice Markus Koehnen deemed the law unconstitutional on Nov. 29.

Ontario had argued the law did not breach constitutional rights, saying the charter only protects the process of bargaining and not the outcome.

The province also said the bill was placed to help eliminate the deficit, and it was a time-limited approach.

Unions representing several hundred thousand public-sector workers had challenged Bill 124 since it was introduced.

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