ETFO, OTHER UNIONS WIN MAJOR CHARTER CHALLENGE VICTORY, BILL 124 DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

TORONTO, ON – The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and other unions have won a major court victory at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The Court found that the Ontario government’s decision, under Bill 124, to impose a three-year wage freeze for ETFO members and other public service workers was unconstitutional and violated workers’ collective bargaining rights. The decision does not address a remedy for this Charter violation.

“Given the content and timing of the legislation in 2019—in the midst of negotiations for the renewal of collective agreements in the education sector—Bill 124 was a direct attack on teachers and education workers,” says ETFO President Karen Brown. “Today’s decision reinforces what we have known all along: Bill 124 violates the democratic rights of all workers in Ontario’s public sector and is a clear violation of ETFO members’ freedom of association as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”