The battle against Ontario's Bill 124 continues and NDP health care critic France Gélinas is fighting on the front line.
Although the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in November that the law was unconstitutional, Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative government is appealing the court's ruling.
Bill 124 is the law Ontario passed in 2019 to put a one-per cent per year wage cap on certain public sector wages in Ontario. It meant that nurses, for example, could not negotiate any wage hike higher than one per cent per cent for a three-year period.
Gélinas, the MPP for Nickel Belt, said the appeal only confirms that Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones are fully aware that Bill 124 is contributing to the health-care staffing crisis by contributing to lower wages and disrespect for hospital workers.
She said Ford's decision to ignore the court and to appeal the decision is "a slap in the face" for public sector workers.
“For years, the Ford government has refused to admit that their anti-worker, wage-capping Bill 124 has intensified a staffing crisis in our hospitals, as disrespected and exhausted health-care workers have left the profession in droves," said a statement from Gélinas.
"It’s now clear that Ford and Jones have always known that Bill 124 was contributing to the staffing crisis in our hospitals. They knew Bill 124 was causing overworked and underpaid health care workers to leave their positions. They just didn’t care," Gélinas continued.
"This is a further slap in the face from a government that has repeatedly shown disregard for Ontario’s incredible health care workers," she added.
The NDP said the premier should take immediate action to rescind his costly and callous appeal of the ruling on Bill 124.
The Ontario NDP are committed to ensuring that workers rights are always respected at Queen’s Park and we will continue to advocate for policies that begin to reverse the damage of Bill 124, said the NDP news release.
