The Saskatchewan government will appeal a court ruling that found the province's essential services law unconstitutional.
Labour Minister Don Morgan, who is also attorney general, says the court's decision breaks new ground when it states that there is charter protection for the right to strike.
"We've looked at it carefully and the biggest concern that we have with the judgment is that it creates a constitutional right to strike, which doesn't exist anywhere in Canadian jurisprudence, so we feel we wanted to appeal that aspect of it," Morgan said Monday.
"And the other part is we want to ensure that we're able to do everything that we need to for a good piece of essential services legislation in our province."
Morgan also said the ruling could have broader implications if it's upheld, so he wants the Court of Appeal to weigh in.
A number of other provinces have said they may want to file for intervener status, because they're concerned with how the judgment might affect their own laws, he said.
"If they have a right to strike that's protected by the Constitution, how does a government work around that?"
The essential services legislation was introduced in December 2007 shortly after the Saskatchewan Party won its first provincial election.
The legislation states employers and unions have to agree on which workers are so needed they cannot walk off the job. Unions were outraged, however, because the law also states that if the two sides can't agree, employers can dictate who is essential.
A Court of Queen's Bench justice ruled last month that the law goes too far because it infringes on the freedom of association of employees. Justice Dennis Ball said "no other essential services legislation in Canada comes close to prohibiting the right to strike as broadly, and as significantly."
But Ball upheld the principle of essential services and gave the government 12 months to fix the law.
Morgan said the appeal asks for that time period to be extended. He said the goal is to hold consultations this spring, draft a bill through the summer and introduce it in the fall. The government would like to see it pass in the spring of 2013.
He said the province still wants to hear from labour groups as it revamps the legislation.
"We put a timeline on because we ... want to hear from you with regards to how you think essentials services should work. If it's simply a matter of saying why they don't want to have it, then I don't think it's particularly productive or beneficial."
