Neither Ontario’s education minister nor the assistant deputy minister will be asked to testify at a hearing that will decide whether a walkout by education workers is illegal.
The chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board ruled that as Education Minister, Stephen Lecce is exempt from testifying due to parliamentary privilege.
Board Chair Bryan O’Byrne said Andrew Davis, the assistant deputy minister, could be called to testify. But after hours of delays, a lawyer for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said he would not call upon Davis to provide evidence.
Instead, lawyers for both the government and the union will present arguments for a second day following an application to the board by the provincial government Friday that sought to declare a recent labour walkout by CUPE-represented employees illegal.
Thousands of education workers, including education assistants, custodians and librarians, walked off the job Friday and gathered at several protests across the province, including outside the legislature in Toronto. It was the beginning of an indefinite walkout in protest of the government passing legislation that banned strikes and imposed a four-year contract.
The province alleges CUPE is engaging in an unlawful strike, while the union representing 55,000 education workers argues its job action is a “legitimate political protest.” Members of other unions, including the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and Unifor, also joined the picketers.
Lecce has said the government had no choice but to proceed with its legislation to avert a strike and keep students in classrooms after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning for the past few years. The bill includes the notwithstanding clause, which allows the legislature to override parts of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term.
CUPE sought to have both Lecce and Davis testify at the hearing, which was conducted over Zoom and broadcast live on YouTube.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has condemned the government’s use of the clause. His government has said its looking at options to challenge the bill from a federal level.
The job action closed numerous schools and the union has said the protest could continue indefinitely.
The government’s new law has set fines for violating the ban on strikes of up to $4,000 per employee per day — which could amount to $220 million for all 55,000 workers — and up to $500,000 per day for the union. CUPE has said it will fight the fines, but will also pay them if it has to.