On June 7, 2018 Ontarians elected the Progressive Conservative ("PC") party as the new majority government in Ontario. Doug Ford will lead the province as the new premier.
The PC party made limited labour and employment related commitments prior to the election, promising only that it would maintain the current minimum wage of $14 per hour and that it would not move forward with the January 1, 2019 minimum wage increase to $15 per hour. The January 1, 2019 minimum wage increase was put in place by the previous Liberal government under Bill 148.
Impact & Action
As discussed on this blog (see here and here), the Liberal government made extensive changes to Ontario's employment standards, occupational health and safety, and labour relations laws under Bill 148. With the PC party now holding a majority government, we anticipate further reversals of Bill 148, beyond the minimum wage freeze. We may also see changes to the recently passed Pay Transparency Act, 2018, discussed here. Employers should be mindful of the fact that the new government may put in place more changes to Ontario's workplace laws.
We will continue to actively monitor the status of the Ontario government's actions and initiatives impacting workplaces and will provide updates on this blog.
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