Classes could be back in session across the province as early as Wednesday, if a bill that ends the teacher strike and legislates the terms of the tentative agreement voted down by teachers back in September is approved by the provincial government.
If Bill-2, the Back to School Act, is passed the terms of the tentative agreement, which according to the government will include a 12 per cent salary increase over four years, additional market adjustments of up to 17 per cent for most teachers, and the hiring of an additional 3,000 teachers and 1,500 educational assistants will be put in place from September, 1st 2024 to August 31st 2028.
Premier Danielle Smith says the strike has gone on long enough and the past three weeks have been an incredibly difficult time for students, teachers and parents, with no path forward unless the government acts.
“The Back to School Act refocuses everyone on what matters most, the education of Alberta’s students. Bill 2 puts students back at the centre of our system, while we continue to work with teachers and families to build lasting stability in Alberta’s schools,” Smith says.
The bill will be invoked under the notwithstanding clause to address what Minister of Justice and Attorney General Mickey Amery says is undue hardship caused by the teacher strike. He says the government is approaching this from the lens of protecting and supporting students across the province, adding that each day the schools are closed, students are losing critical support and time in the classroom.
“That’s why we’re doing this, to prioritize the learning and well-being of our students. The notwithstanding clause is integral to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and a vital provincial constitutional right,” Amery says. “It will remove the uncertainty a court case could create, but most importantly, using the notwithstanding clause, in this case, preserves the sovereignty of the legislature to act in the public interest, and we believe that it is in the public interest that students return to the classrooms as soon as possible.”
Finance Minister Nate Horner adds that if passed, Bill 2 will also put a pause on local bargaining to prevent new strikes over local issues, ensuring students and parents are not disrupted again while this agreement is in place.
“Ordinarily, local bargaining would follow central negotiations to address things like professional development, tuition reimbursement, job postings and allowances. But now the focus must remain on stability, not further disruption. This legislation will prevent strikes at two levels, general and local, protecting our kids from additional strikes across 61 other jurisdictions,” Horner says.
He adds that the legislation also includes enforcement provisions through the Alberta Labour Relations Board, with penalties of up to $500 a day for any individual who participates in a legal strike action and up to $500,000 a day for organizations that take part in a legal strike.
Invoking this Bill is something Horner says was not taken lightly, but follows 18 months of negotiations and the longest educational strike in the province’s history.
“We have respected the bargaining process and made every effort to reach a fair and responsible settlement,” Horner says. “The [Alberta Teachers Association’s] latest offer went too far. It would have imposed rigid classroom size and complexity limits that stripped school boards of the ability to manage their schools effectively. Worse, it would have nearly doubled the total cost of the September agreement, adding an additional $2 billion obligation for Alberta taxpayers.”
“Even after the teachers rejected two of their union’s endorsed settlements, the government offered enhanced mediation to end the strike, get teachers and students back to class and continue addressing classroom pressures. The ATA refused to return to the table and stood by their impossible, inflexible offer.”
Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides says it is important to note the impact the strike has on the 700,000 students who have been out of school over the past three weeks. He expands by saying the impact some students are seeing from this strike is a feeling of anxiety, while others are losing momentum or falling behind.
“For kids with special needs, this disruption was even harder. Parents have done their best. Many scrambled to find help. Some had to take time off work. Others worried about their children’s progress,” Nicolaides says. “Research shows how serious these impacts can be.”
The Education Minister cited two studies done in Ontario, including a study by David Johnson at Wilfrid Laurier University, which he says states, “strikes and work-to-rule campaigns hit hardest in schools where students already face challenges. Kids in grades three and six at disadvantaged schools saw large drops in reading and math scores across the strike years.”
The provincial government says teachers’ concerns about class sizes and seeing an increase in students with diverse learning needs, behavioural challenges, and incidents of classroom aggression are also being taken into account. Previously, the Alberta government formed the Aggression and Complexity in Schools Action Team to help identify practical classroom-focused solutions. Nicolaides says the report will be published in November, once it is finalized, and a new task force will be created to put the ideas into action.
“We’ll also begin updating the 2004 standards for special education to ensure that every student can receive the support that they need. Right away, we will work with school boards to collect better data. We want to understand class sizes and student needs more clearly,” Nicolaides says.
On Friday, ATA released a statement condemning the government’s plan to table Bill 2 and legislate the end of Alberta’s province-wide teacher strike.
The statement reads, “Throughout this dispute, teachers have bargained in good faith, bringing forward thoughtful, practical proposals to address the serious issues facing Alberta’s classrooms. The ATA remains committed to reaching an agreement through the collective bargaining process, which must include productive dialogue about addressing class size and complexity.”
ATA President Jason Schilling added that the provincial government has chosen confrontation over cooperation, and the choice they are making is completely unnecessary.
“It’s also undemocratic and will set an extremely dangerous precedent,” Schilling says. “By choosing to end this legal labour action through legislation, the government is abdicating its duty to address the real issues that teachers—and thousands of Albertans—have raised throughout this strike and in the months leading up to it.”
Bill 2 is expected to be fast-tracked through the Legislature Monday, with officials saying they will stay late into the night if need be.
