N.S. still working out how to pay about $470 million in Bill 148 wage-freeze damages

Nova Scotia has accounted for the roughly $470 million Bill 148 settlement but is still working out how to pay workers, Finance Minister John Lohr said. A judge ruled in February that the 2015 law, which froze public sector wages for two years and capped increases for two more, violated collective bargaining rights. A Nov. 9 court order requires payments to about 81,000 eligible workers by Dec. 31, 2027, with eligibility lists due June 30, 2027. Workers could receive up to $5,000 each, depending on time worked. Lohr said calculations will go union by union, and non-union workers are excluded.