Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemns the Ontario government’s intention to use the notwithstanding clause in a controversial bill that would impose a contract on education workers in the province.
His comments come Tuesday morning as the Ontario Legislative Assembly continues a first session called by the Ford government to expedite passage of the Law on keeping students in class that would contract education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and prevent them from going on strike.
CUPE said it would explore all avenues to fight the bill, but the government said it intended to use the notwithstanding clause to keep the eventual law in force despite any constitutional challenges.
The clause allows the legislature to waive parts of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term.
“It’s wrong to use the notwithstanding clause to suspend workers’ rights,” Trudeau said, adding that collective bargaining must be conducted with respect despite any difficulties that arise.
“Suspending peoples’ rights is something you should only do in the most exceptional of circumstances, and I really hope all politicians speak out against the overuse of the notwithstanding clause to suspend peoples’ rights and freedoms. “
Federal Justice Minister David Lametti said he is considering how Ottawa could challenge the province’s use of the notwithstanding clause, as he says its preventive use is “extremely problematic” because it cuts off political debate and judicial review.
Education minister says clause can reduce challenges to bill
Education Minister Stephen Lecce speaking with CBC’s Metro Morning on Tuesday noted that there was a “huge difference” between the union’s and the province’s positions during negotiations.
“It’s not a government’s first option to legislate, but the alternative is to do nothing frankly,” Lecce said.
LISTEN | Ontario Minister of Education on preventing strikes:
Subway morning9:02Why the Ontario government is using the notwithstanding clause to prevent education workers from going on strike
Stephen Lecce is Ontario’s Minister of Education. He joined Metro Morning to explain why his government is introducing new legislation to prevent education workers from striking, in a bid to keep schools open.
When asked how this bill differs from legislation passed by the former provincial Liberal government in 2012, which ended up requiring the province to pay more $100 million in reparations to affected unionsLecce said the bill was crafted with the notwithstanding clause in mind, which can “reduce any downstream litigation or dispute that could create disruption.
“The purpose of this government legislation is designed to keep children in school,” Lecce said.
“And if we are going to do it, as a lesson learned from the previous government, we are going to do it with all the tools at our disposal to avoid a strike and a disruption and any type of problems that may arise in the weeks or months to come. come.”
In a letter dated Monday, Ontario Liberals called on the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to review Lecce’s comments as a breach of parliamentary privilege, citing his alleged passage of the bill several times after it was introduced. Bill.
Education workers will leave work on Friday
The legislation comes after CUPE said its 55,000 education worker members, including early childhood educators, caretakers and librarians, would leave work on Friday despite the legislation. It is unclear if the walkout would last longer than a day.
The proposed bill provides for a strike ban with fines of up to $4,000 per employee per day and $500,000 for the union, with the union promising to foot the bill for those fines.
However, CUPE also said it was moving forward with bargaining dates scheduled for this week. The union said it was at the table on Tuesday and will offer a counter offer, with talks also scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
The government had offered increases of 2% a year for workers earning less than $40,000 and 1.25% for everyone else, but Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the new four-year deal imposed would give 2.5% annual increases to workers earning less than $43,000 and 1.5% increase for everyone else.
Several school boards, including the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), have said they will have to close schools on Friday in response.
About 15,000 TDSB employees — about a third of council staff — are CUPE employees, TDSB spokesman Ryan Bird said Tuesday.
“It’s just not possible to safely operate a school and supervise students within a school, if they do leave work on Friday,” Bird said.
If the action continues beyond Friday, he said, the board would notify parents and students as soon as possible so they can make alternative arrangements.
WATCH | Ontario education workers vow to protest as Ford government fast-tracks bill:
Ontario MLAs gathered early in the morning to pass legislation to prevent a strike by education workers. The Progressive Conservative government promises to use the notwithstanding clause to enforce the law.
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