In a major victory for workers, judge rules Bill 148 unconstitutional

February 27, 2026

Earlier today, The Honourable Justice Ann E. Smith of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruled that Bill 148, the Public Services Sustainability Act, is unconstitutional. Workers are demanding that Tim Houston follow through on his election promise and publicly commit there will be no government appeal to this ruling.

Justice Smith found:

“[…] in removing wages from the items up for negotiation, the Act materially undermined the ability of the Applicant Unions to effectively bargain for their members.”

“It is clear to this Court that the removal of the long service awards, along with the wage restraint caps imposed by the Act, had a hugely negative impact on the bargaining power of the Applicant Unions, and thereby their ability to meaningfully negotiate on behalf of their members.”

“Bill 148 substantially interfered with the ability of the Applicant Unions to exert meaningful influence over important working conditions through a process of good faith collective bargaining.”

“Bill 148 removed the Applicant Unions’ leverage on monetary items and thereby upset the balance of power between the parties and negated the ability of the Unions to engage in meaningful bargaining.”

“The evidence shows, and I find that Bill 148 did not respect the principle of the duty to consult and negotiate in good faith.”

Thank you to everyone who persevered over the last 10-years in fighting this bill. This ruling is because of you.

By infringing on the Charter rights of workers to full, free and fair collective bargaining, workers lost out on wages and benefits that should rightfully be theirs.

This started with Stephen McNeil and it needs to end with Tim Houston. The government’s sole focus should now be to make amends for how they treated these workers.

This should not be politically difficult for the government. In 2021, when campaigning for workers’ votes, Tim Houston agreed that this law needed to be made null and void. With the Legislature sitting, he can commit there will be no appeal, and do it from the floor of the House. There must be no question that this stain on the history of workers’ rights in Nova Scotia is behind us, and that the workers harmed by Bill 148 will get the justice they deserve.

Melissa Marsman, President, Nova Scotia Federation of Labour

Sandra Mullen, President, Nova Scotia General Employees Union

Alan Linkletter, President, CUPE Nova Scotia

Peter Day, President, Nova Scotia Teachers Union

Janet Hazelton, President, Nova Scotia Nurses Union

Jennifer Murray, Unifor Atlantic Regional Director, Unifor

Kevin MacMullin, Business Agent, IOUE Local 727

Tina Oh, Vice President Eastern Canada, SEIU Local 2

Toni MacAfee, National Director, CUPW, Atlantic Region 

For more information or to arrange interviews contact: David Etherington, NSFL Communications Coordinator, at (902) 292-7991.

The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour is the provincial voice of the Labour Movement, representing 70,000 members in over 400 union locals.