FTR Now
Majority of Ontario Appellate Court Finds Bill 124 Unconstitutional
Date: February 12, 2024
On February 12, 2024 the Court of Appeal for Ontario issued its decision in Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association v. Ontario (Attorney General).
A majority of the Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision and found the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019 (commonly referred to as Bill 124) to be contrary to the right to freedom of association under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) and not justified under section 1 of the Charter.
However, the majority also concluded that Bill 124 is constitutional in its application to non-represented employees and thus upheld those provisions of the statute that apply to non-represented employees. Justice Hourigan dissented and would have upheld Bill 124 in its entirety as constitutional.
The Ontario Superior Court previously found all of Bill 124 unconstitutional and declared it void and of no effect (we discussed the Superior Court decision in our FTR Now “Ontario Court Rules Bill 124 is Unconstitutional – What Now?”).
We will be reviewing this decision in greater detail and will provide a more thorough analysis in the coming days.
Editor’s Note: This post has been updated from its original version.
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