Alberta’s top court is allowing the government’s Bill 9 to come back into effect after overturning an injunction, granted by an Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench judge, that had blocked it.
In a 2-1 decision released Friday, the Court of Appeal allowed the Alberta government’s appeal of the July 30 ruling from Court of Queen’s Justice Eric Macklin, which granted the injunction to the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.
The majority found that Macklin went beyond making a decision about whether there was a serious issue to be tried.
“The chambers judge essentially decided that Bill 9 was unconstitutional legislation that was not demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society,” they said in the written decision.
“The government, however, was not in a position in this injunction context to fully defend the litigation, or to put forward a S. 1 [Section 1, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms] justification, something that would obviously require a trial.
“The analysis also failed to properly apply the presumption that legislation is constitutionally valid and that stays of legislation based on allegations of unconstitutionality should be sparingly granted.”
Bill 9 — or the Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act — puts a halt to wage arbitration talks for three collective agreements affecting 65,000 AUPE members who work for Alberta Health Services or the provincial government. The bill puts the process on hold until Oct. 30.
With the injunction, AUPE’s arbitration hearings were able to resume in August.
Finance Minister Travis Toews called the decision “a positive result for Alberta taxpayers.”
“We introduced Bill 9 because Albertans rightly expect that the government would have the full picture of the province’s economic situation before engaging in public sector compensation discussions,” Toews said Friday in a written statement.
“This decision ensures government can make fully informed and prudent economic decisions in the interest of both taxpayers and workers during a time of fiscal restraint.”
AUPE president Guy Smith will respond to the decision at 11:30 a.m.
Late last year, AUPE members agreed to a three-year contract with wage freezes in the first two years, with the understanding that wage talks would be reopened in the final year.
The agreement also guaranteed the workers job security until March 30, 2020.