Ontario appeals decision that struck down wage-limiting law for public sector workers

The Ontario government is appealing a court decision that struck down a law limiting wages for public-sector workers.

In the notice of appeal filed in Ontario's top court on Thursday, the province argues the judge erred in ruling that Bill 124 infringes on the applicants' rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

In his decision on Nov. 29, Justice Markus Koehnen deemed the law unconstitutional.

Groups representing several hundred thousand public-sector employees had challenged the constitutionality of the law passed in 2019, which capped wage increases at one per cent per year for three years.

The province had argued the law did not infringe constitutional rights, saying the charter only protects the process of bargaining, not the outcome, and said the bill was a time-limited approach to help eliminate the deficit.