QUEEN’S PARK – Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner released the following statement in response to news that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ruled that Bill 124 violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
“The Premier must not waste any more taxpayer money fighting for this terrible piece of legislation.
I call on the government to admit that Bill 124 is unjust and discriminatory and promise not to appeal this decision.
The bill has done incalculable harm to our healthcare system and other public services on which we rely.
It undervalues and disrespects nurses and other frontline healthcare workers and is responsible for much of the current crisis in the province’s hospitals as overstressed nursing and other staff left the sector in droves.
Today’s court ruling confirms what I have been saying since the bill was first proposed – that it is an insult to hard-working provincial workers and that it perpetuates this government’s pattern of belittling the caring professions, where women make up the majority.
It’s time to consign Bill 124 to the dustbin of history and start investing in the people who care for us every day.