Ontario is taking the public sector to court. Here's what you need to know

The Ontario government’s appeal of a court ruling that struck down Bill 124—a controversial piece of legislation that capped public sector wages for a period of three years—begins on Tuesday.

• Download our app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

The court case is the accumulation of years of legal back and forth beginning in 2019 when the Doug Ford government first proposed the bill.

Here’s what you need to know:

What is Bill 124?

The Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act received royal assent on Nov. 7, 2019. The goal of the bill was to cap public sector wage increases at one per cent for a period of three years in an effort to help eliminate the deficit.

Officials argued the legislation was meant to be “exceptional and time limited.”

• MORE: Ontario passes wage cap bill

However, the legislation received a lot of criticism from groups representing public sector workers who argued it was unconstitutional and should be repealed. These groups then decided to fight the bill in court.

When did the court challenge begin?

The courts first heard the case, which involves 10 applicants, in September 2022. The applicants are primarily unions who represent public sector workers such as teachers, nurses and other employees.

The groups argued the bill violates a section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that protects meaningful collective bargaining, while the province argued the opposite. The government reasoned that the Charter doesn’t guarantee “unlimited annual raises for public sector workers.”

What happened?

In November 2022, Justice Markus Koehnen released an 80-page decision arguing that Bill 124 does infringe on the applicants’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

“The Charter protects not just the right to associate but also the right to a meaningful process in which unions can put on the table those issues that are of concern to workers and have them discussed in good faith,” Koehnen wrote.

The same day, the government indicated it would be appealing the decision in court.

Why did the government appeal?

The Progressive Conservatives filed a formal appeal of the decision on Dec. 29, 2022.

In the appeal, which was obtained by CTV News Toronto, the government argues the court “erred in holding that the financial impact of the Act’s limits on the compensation increases substantially interferes with the respondent’s rights to a meaningful process of collective bargaining.”

They also say the judge erred by mischaracterizing why Bill 124 was put in place to begin with, which they say was to “to manage the province’s finances in a responsible manner and to protect the sustainability of public services.”

The courts will hear this case this week.

What are the possible outcomes?

The courts can choose to uphold Koehnen’s ruling or the courts can side with the government.

Whichever way the court leans, both sides have the option to appeal a final time to the Supreme Court.

Some public sector workers, including hospital workers and nurses, have already been awarded some additional wage increases through arbitration in light of the original court decision.

A recent report by the Ontario Financial Accountability Office suggested some of the arbitration has already cost the province about $1 billion in extra health-sector funding.