Dear Corina,

The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind of excitement and tremendous, positive news for our members, Ontario’s labour community and our patients, residents and clients.

Yesterday, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s decision ruling that Bill 124 is unconstitutional. ONA is thrilled with this second win for labour unions. The Ford government could have appealed this decision all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

At a labour union press conference yesterday afternoon at Queen Park, I – along with our labour siblings from OPSEU and CUPE – urged the Ford government not to appeal for the sake of Ontarians.

And the Ford government listened. Fancy that.

In a late-breaking news notice last night, Ford announced that his government will repeal Bill 124 in its totality.

ONA led the fight

When Bill 124 was first passed, ONA led the way in challenging this sham of a bill in court, filing our legal challenge back in 2019. After a five-year fight, we have shown this government that its attack on those providing quality public-sector services has only resulted in strengthening the labour movement.

The bill caused immeasurable damage to nurses and health-care professionals and our patients, residents and clients who rely on our care. They have suffered and Ontario’s publicly funded and publicly delivered health-care system has been left on the brink of collapse.

Although we have won this battle, I expect to see this government continue its attacks on public health care. Rest assured, ONA and our allies will use our collective strength to fight back on behalf of our patients, residents and clients. We will not back down, because Ontarians depend on us.

It’s time for this government listen to front-line care providers, to respect us and to work together to repair the damage done.

What the repeal means

For our members who were subject to Bill 124, ONA had the foresight to include a reopener clause in our collective agreements. Because of this, we have already achieved additional wages for our hospital and some of our long-term care members.

We are now taking a look at our members who were not covered under Bill 124 to determine the next steps to achieve remedy. Although it is unlikely that we will have immediate answers, we will keep you informed.

Today is a day to celebrate! This is a victory for all ONA members. We know there is much work to be done, but this shows Premier Ford and his government can be defeated when we all come together to fight for each other and our patients, residents and clients.

Keeping up the fight,

Erin Ariss, RN
Provincial President
Ontario Nurses' Association

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