By Ontario Nurses’ Assocation
The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) is expressing outrage that Premier Ford is appealing the Ontario Superior Court’s decision to strike down his wage-cap law, Bill 124, on the grounds that it violates the right to free collective bargaining enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“After facing years of Ford’s anti-worker, anti-woman attacks on our basic rights, front-line nurses and health-care professionals were vindicated when the court ruled last month that Bill 124 was unconstitutional,” says ONA Interim President Bernie Robinson, RN. “Nurses and health-care professionals welcomed the court’s decision as the end of this severe violation of their right to freely bargain. We celebrated the end of our years-long fight to defeat Bill 124 as a victory for all workers, especially those in female-dominated fields that are frequently undervalued.”
Unfortunately, this hope and relief was short-lived once nurses learned that Premier Ford was going to appeal the Court’s ruling.
“Nurses and health-care professional across the province are beyond angry and frustrated that this government is continuing to defend Bill 124, and we are telling Premier Ford: enough is enough,” Robinson notes. “The Premier must stop attacking nurses and health-care workers. He should have done the right thing and accepted the court’s clear decision. Now, hundreds of thousands of public dollars will be wasted fighting workers in court.”
“To Premier Ford, to our members and to all workers impacted by Bill 124, I will say this: ONA will never back down and will fight like never before to defend our rights,” said Robinson.
ONA is the union representing more than 68,000 registered nurses and health-care professionals, as well as 18,000 nursing student affiliates, providing care in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community, clinics and industry.
