[1] The bill imposed a 1% limit on pay increases from 2020 to 2023 for public sector workers and for agencies and commissions that received over $1 million in provincial funding.

[2] The bill was introduced before the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in early June 2019, with the president of the Ontario Treasury Board and MPP Peter Bethlenfalvy stating that the bill would "ensure that increases in public sector compensation reflect the fiscal situation of the province."

The Progressive Conservative government had already frozen the salaries of public sector executives who earned more than $100 000 as part of their plans to address the province's budget deficit.

[5] The bill was also criticised for the impact it would on teaching assistants in universities, who already faced issues with low pay and heavy workloads.

"[8][9] In December 2019, a coalition of ten unions announced their intention to launch a court challenge over the bill, claiming that it limited their ability to collective bargaining and striking that would be protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.