Appeal court upholds TTC workers' right to strike, as potential job action looms
Ontario's top court has upheld the right of Toronto Transit Commission workers to strike, a decision that comes just days before potential job action.
The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed an appeal Thursday by the provincial government of a lower court ruling that had declared a law eliminating the workers' right to strike unconstitutional.
In 2011, the Ontario government, under the Liberals, enacted a law banning unionized TTC workers from striking, which government lawyers in this appeal said came after "unusually frequent strike action and immediate ad-hoc back-to-work legislation."
A Superior Court judge found last year that the law interfered with workers' collective bargaining rights, and the Appeal Court agreed in a split decision.
The lower court judge did make some errors in his analysis, the Appeal Court wrote, but none of them "fatally undermined" his conclusion that the law breached TTC workers' collective bargaining rights and that breach could not be justified under the section of the charter that allows reasonable limits on rights and freedoms.
"The main thrust of the application judge’s reasons is that Ontario’s evidence did not persuade him that a full pre-emptive ban on TTC strikes was reasonably needed to protect public health and safety, the environment, and the economy," the Appeal Court majority wrote.
"He concluded that the public harms the legislature feared would be caused by a full or partial TTC shutdown were speculative and unproven, whereas the impact of the strike ban on TTC employees’ (collective bargaining) rights was significant."
The judge's factual findings contained no overriding errors on any essential points, the court wrote. While the lower court judge perhaps arrived at his conclusion that Ontario couldn't justify the breach in an incorrect manner, the conclusion itself is correct, the Appeal Court wrote.
The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 – which represents about 12,000 operators and other front-life staff at the TTC – could go on strike as early as June 7 in a current bargaining dispute.
The union said the Appeal Court decision is a historic win for working people.
“Since our right to strike was restored last year, we have seen a change in bargaining for the better," union local president Marvin Alfred wrote in a statement.
"Bargaining a collective agreement is never easy and it involves a great deal of hard work. We are committed to working to come to a fair agreement and we will do what it takes to ensure our members get the fair agreement they deserve.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2024
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
New signs warning of great white sharks in the works for some East Coast beaches
There's growing evidence that the number of great white sharks is on the rise along Canada's East Coast, where plans are in the works to post warning signs for beachgoers for the first time.
80 countries at Swiss conference agree territorial integrity of Ukraine must be basis of any peace
Eighty countries jointly called Sunday for the "territorial integrity" of Ukraine to be the basis for any peace agreement to end Russia’s war, though some key developing nations at a Swiss conference did not join in.
Your father’s diet before you were born could have affected your health, a new study suggests
Your father's diet before you were born could have played a role in your health, a new study has found.
Rare surgery in Montreal allows 9-year-old girl to live normal life
A rare surgery at the Montreal Children's Hospital is allowing a nine-year-old girl to keep her adrenal glands and live a normal life.
Global study ranks two Canadians cities high on list of most expensive places to buy a home
As Canadians continue to struggle with the extremely high cost of buying a home in some of the country’s major urban centres, a new global report is underscoring just how expensive some of those markets are.
Foreign Affairs Minister insists there are no ‘traitors’ in Liberal caucus
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly insists there are no "traitors" in the Liberal caucus, after a report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) alleged there are MPs and senators who are “semi-witting or witting participants” in foreign interference efforts.
As it happened: How the Oilers crushed the Panthers to force Game 5
The Edmonton Oilers' offence exploded in Game 4 to beat the Florida Panthers 8-1.
Shooting in Detroit suburb injures 9, leaving an 8-year-old in critical condition
Nine people were injured, including two young children and their mother, after a shooter opened fire at a splash pad in a Detroit suburb where families gathered to escape the summer heat Saturday. Law enforcement tracked a suspect to a home, where the man died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
Trump blasts immigrants for taking jobs as he courts voters at a Black church, MAGA event in Detroit
Donald Trump blamed immigrants for stealing jobs and government resources as he courted separate groups of Black voters and hardcore conservatives in battleground Michigan on Saturday.