Ford government passes Bill 47
Today, the government that claims to be for the “little guy” stuck it to the little guy
The Ford government passed Bill 47, the so-called Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018, which wipes out most of the advances made by Bill 148.
Bill 148 was enacted after a lengthy process in which two special advisors conducted a comprehensive review of Ontario’s labour and employment laws to ensure they reflected the changing nature of the modern workplace, including consulting with stakeholders.
Bill 47 was drafted on the heels of the Ford government’s election and rushed through the legislature.
The final version of Bill 47 is largely the same as the draft version we summarized in October and which you can read here.
The only substantive change between the draft version of Bill 47 and the final version involves the review of bargaining unit structures by the Ontario Labour Relations Board. Bill 47 originally amended the sections of Bill 148 that gave the Board the power to review certain bargaining unit structures at the request of a party, replacing those sections with modified provisions of its own. But the final version of Bill 47 deletes these draft amendments and instead simply repeals the provisions of Bill 148. As a result, the Board no longer has this power.