The Ontario NDP is attempting to delay a controversial piece of legislation that would suspend the constitutional rights of thousands of education support workers — the latest in an already dramatic day at Queen’s Park.
The NDP, which has limited legislative tools to prevent the proposed bill from sailing through the Ontario legislature, deployed several tactics on Wednesday to protest the Ford government’s use of the notwithstanding clause to impose a contract on the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
During Question Period on Wednesday, Ontario NDP interim leader Peter Tabuns — along with 15 NDP MPPS — was ejected from the legislature.
One after another, they were escorted from the chamber.
The chaotic scenes began when Tabuns accused Premier Doug Ford of lying.
“Speaker, when will the Premier and his ministers stop lying about the damage they’re doing to the education system?” Tabuns asked.
The speaker ordered him to withdraw his “unparliamentary comment,” but Tabuns refused and was ordered to leave the chamber, escorted by the Sergeant at Arms.
Jamie West, the Ontario NDP MPP for Sudbury, was then ordered to “stop yelling” before he too was removed from the room.
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The NDP said a total of 16 of its members were ordered to leave the chamber during the protest.
The scenes of protest from Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition came ahead of a planned strike by educations workers on Friday and anti-strike legislation the government is rushing through.
Education workers represented by CUPE are preparing to strike after stalled contract negotiations with the province; the proposed legislation will outlaw that strike and impose a contract on workers without negotiations.
The bill includes use of the notwithstanding clause to avoid a court challenge.
“People have to stand up, resist, tell them we’re not going to put up with it,” Tabuns told journalists.
He said Ford was lying when he said he cared about children, blaming potential school closures — as a result of strike action — on the premier.
However, Ford and his PC Party have a comfortable PC majority in the house and the Ontario NDP are unable to vote down the legislation.
Instead, later on Wednesday afternoon, the NDP filed a number of motions to adjourn the debate on Bill 28 and to shut down the Ontario legislature for the day — they were voted down by the Ford government.
While the legislative maneuvers may have been intended to make a point, the NDP acknowledged the 60 minutes of voting time required for the motions ate into debate time for Bill 28.
The party says it will deploy additional tactics to push a crucial vote to Thursday afternoon.
The Ford government is expected to pass the legislation on Thursday regardless of the protests and invoke the notwithstanding clause for the second time in Ontario’s history — the first time was in 2021.
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