Ontario Premier Doug Ford vows to scrap key Liberal labour reform legislation

Ontario Premier Doug Ford vowed Tuesday to scrap labour reform legislation from the previous Liberal regime that raised the province’s minimum wage and introduced a range of other worker protections, a declaration that came days after his government said the law was under review.

Ford’s comments caught the opposition off guard and upset those in the labour community who have been supporters of the law known as Bill 148.

“We’re getting rid of Bill 148,” the premier said in the legislature. “We’re going to make sure we’re competitive around the world.”

The Progressive Conservatives said last week that they would halt a planned increase to minimum wage set to kick in next year as a result of the Liberal law, and the labour minister said the rest of the legislation was being reviewed.

The bill mandates equal pay for part-time and temporary workers doing the same job as full-time employees and increases vacation entitlements to three weeks after a worker has been with their company for five years.

It also requires employees to be paid for three hours if their shift is cancelled within 48 hours of its start, and expands personal emergency leave to 10 days per year, two of them paid.

When brought in, the law was applauded by labour activists who had been calling on the government to increase the minimum wage for years. Some businesses, however, complained about the hike in minimum wage — from $11.60 to $14 an hour on Jan. 1 — and raised prices, cut staff hours and reduced employee benefits in response.

When asked to clarify his comments about the bill, Ford doubled down on his remarks Tuesday afternoon.

“I don’t think this is any surprise,” he said. “I talked about this all throughout the campaign. I went from town to town talking about Bill 148.”