Lawyers for the Ford government launched their Bill 124 appeal, on Tuesday, urging the Ontario Superior Court to overrule a lower court judge and reinstate the controversial wage restraint law.
Bill 124, which capped public sector wages at one per cent per year for a three-year term, was struck down as unconstitutional in November after unions argued it substantially interfered with their constitutional right to collective bargaining.
As the province tries to protect the savings gained by capping public sector salaries, the government is arguing that the constitution protects the union’s right to negotiate but not the outcome of the bargaining process.