Ontario on the hook for $6B and counting in Bill 124 compensation
Ontario is so far on the hook for more than $6 billion in payments to broader public sector workers as a result of the provincial government's wage restraint legislation being found unconstitutional.
Bill 124 capped salary increases for broader public sector workers at one per cent a year for three years, but after the Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled it unconstitutional the government repealed it.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Since a lower court first found the law unconstitutional in 2022, unions with so-called reopener clauses in their contracts have been seeking retroactive pay increases above the one per cent a year and in most cases have been awarded considerably larger amounts.
Senior government officials not authorized to speak publicly about the costs confirm to The Canadian Press that those awards so far add up to $6,000,800,000.
The province's financial accountability officer highlighted in a report earlier this month that compensation - largely in the health and education sectors - for the law known as Bill 124 caused the government to spend billions more than it planned this year.
The confirmation of the cost of the reopener payments so far comes as Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy is set to introduce next year's budget in less than two weeks.
In the minister's last fiscal update ahead of the budget, the release of the third quarter finances last month, he projected that Ontario would end this year with a $4.5 billion deficit, which is larger than the $1.3 billion he forecasted in last year's spring budget.
The province has used what the FAO has highlighted as an unusually large contingency fund to offset some of the increased compensation costs, with $3.3 billion left in the fund at the time of the third-quarter finances report.
The FAO has said pay increases to compensate public sector workers for Bill 124 could end up costing the government more than $13 billion.
Since the law was first found unconstitutional by a lower court, arbitrators have awarded additional retroactive pay to several groups of public employees, including teachers, nurses, other hospital workers, public servants, Public Health Ontario employees ORNGE air ambulance paramedics, and college faculty.
Employees of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario are among the most recent to be awarded back pay. An arbitrator awarded them an additional 6.5 per cent over the three years of their last contract, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union announced this week.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 15, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.