The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal will get a complete look at the province’s controversial labour bill.
Government announced they would be sending sections of Bill 148 that deal with the Public Service Award to the court for review.
President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour Danny Cavanagh is pleased the merits of the whole bill will be considered.
“They were only sending a piece of the bill which they figured they would win on. If we’re going to look at the unconstitutionality of a bill like this, then the court needs to look at the entire bill to pass sound judgement.”
Cavanagh says government had no right to eliminate the long service award from some of its members.
“We are confident that when a court looks at the entire portions of Bill 148; specifically the pieces that allow a government, through legislation, to lift pieces out of a collective agreement, then we feel we’ll win.”
Cavanagh’s group were part of a constitutional challenge against Bill 148.
Minister of Labour Relations Mark Furey says by including those sections, groups such as Cavanagh’s will no longer need to challenge the review and the question of constitutionality can be resolved more quickly.
Furey says government remains confident in the entire bill and wants to settle the question of who has the authority to set public fiscal policy.
Government to Broaden Review of Public Services Sustainability Act https://t.co/gQ86H6ilYd
— Nova Scotia Gov. (@nsgov) October 4, 2017
