His comments come Tuesday morning as Ontario’s legislature resumes an early session called by the Ford government to speed up passage of the Keeping Students in Class Act that would put a contract on teachers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). and would prevent them from hitting. CUPE said it would explore every avenue to fight the bill, but the government said it intended to use the nullity clause to keep the potential law in place despite constitutional challenges. The clause allows the legislature to override parts of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term. “Using the clause to suspend workers’ rights is wrong,” Trudeau told CBC News, adding that collective bargaining must be done respectfully, no matter what the difficulty may be. “Suspending people’s rights is something you should only do in the most exceptional circumstances, and I really hope that all politicians invoke the abuse of the extension clause to suspend people’s rights and freedoms.” Federal Justice Minister David Lametty says he’s looking into how Ottawa could challenge the province’s use of the waiver because he says its preemptive use is “extremely problematic” as it shuts down political debate and judicial review.
The education minister says the clause can reduce challenges to bills
The legislation comes after CUPE said its 55,000 members working in the education sector would walk off the job on Friday despite the legislation. It is unclear whether the strike will last more than one day. However, the legislation sets a strike ban with fines of up to $4,000 per worker per day and $500,000 for the union, with the union promising to foot the bill for any such fines. Several school boards, including the Toronto District School Board, have said they will have to close schools on Friday in response. Education Minister Steven Lecce, speaking on CBC’s Metro Morning on Tuesday, noted there was a “huge difference” between the union and the province’s positions during negotiations. “This is not the first choice of any government to legislate, but the alternative is to frankly do nothing,” Lecce said. LISTEN | Ontario’s Minister of Education on strike prevention: Metro Morning9:02 Why the Ontario government is using the clause to prevent education workers from striking Stephen Lecce is Ontario’s Minister of Education. He joined Metro Morning to talk about 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 ultimately ended with the province paying more than $100 million in remedies to affected unions, Lecce said the bill designed with the no clause in mind, which can “reduce any disputes or challenges downstream that could create disruption.” “The point of this government legislation is designed to keep kids in school,” Lecce said. “And if we’re going to do that, as a lesson from the previous government, we’re going to do it with all the tools at our disposal to prevent a strike and a riot and any kind of problems that could arise in the coming weeks or months”. In a letter Monday, the Ontario Liberals asked the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to consider Lecce’s comments as a breach of parliamentary privilege, citing alleged approval of the bill on several occasions after the bill was introduced. WATCHES | Ontario education workers vow to protest as Ford government moves to pass bill:
Ontario education workers vow to walk off the job despite anti-strike law
Ontario MPs gathered in an early morning session to pass legislation aimed at preventing a strike by education workers. The Progressive Conservative government promises to use the clause to enforce the law.
