A bill passed in the Alberta Legislature sending teachers and students back to the classroom, is also the first bill in the provinces history that uses the notwithstanding clause.
Bill 2, The Back to School Act, passed third reading early Tuesday morning ending the 22 day long teacher strike, re-opening schools and sending over 750,000 students and 51,000 teachers back to the classroom.
The bill was put forward by Finance Minister Nate Horner on Monday afternoon and passed with the third reading passing at 2 a.m. Tuesday with a vote of 44 for and 32 against. The bill was able to go through all three in a short amount of time after the UCP Government approved motions before the bill was tabled allowing for it to move more than two readings in one day and putting a time limit on debate.
When tabling Bill 2, Minister Horner said it invokes the notwithstanding clause to help ensure stability moving forward for students, parents and teachers. He says the bill will “provide teachers with a fair agreement based on the last mutually accepted offer between TEBA and the ATA and ensure no further irreparable harm is done to Alberta students through labour action.”
When put to a vote back in September, 89.5 per cent of workers rejected the offer that is part of the bill. These terms include a 12 per cent salary increase over four years, additional market adjustments of up to 17 per cent for what Horner says will be 95 per cent of teachers, and the hiring of an additional 3,000 teachers and 1,500 educational assistants. Under the bill, the agreement will be in place from September 1st, 2024, to August 31st, 2028. Bill 2 will also put a pause on local bargaining, which Horner earlier Monday said will “prevent new strikes over local issues, ensuring students and parents are not disrupted again while this agreement is in place.”
In a letter sent to families, Premier Danielle Smith says the passing of the Back to School Act is about beginning a new chapter for education in the province. In the letter, Smith states that her government did not make this decision lightly, but ultimately had to address how the strike was impacting students, with “Prolonged school closures can lead to increased anxiety, especially for students in key transition years like Grade 6 and Grade 9.”
“We also heard from parents who were deeply concerned, not just about their children’s learning, but about their mental health, their friendships, and their sense of stability. Many families, especially those with fewer resources or children with complex needs, were being hit the hardest,” Smith says. “These are not abstract concerns, they are real, and they are urgent.”
“As Premier, I have a duty to act when the well-being of Alberta’s children is at risk. As I’ve said before, when you get to a point where irreparable harm is being caused to kids, that’s where we must draw a line. We cannot allow this strike to continue. We must get our students back in class, where they belong.”
RELATED STORY: Proposed legislation to send teachers, students back to school as soon as Wednesday
Leader of the Opposition Naheed Nenshi, in a statement issued after the tabling of the bill, says the use of the notwithstanding clause for the first time in Alberta’s history is a shameful first for the province.
“It should alarm not only teachers, parents, and students, but all Albertans,” Nenshi says. “This is an unprecedented attack on the Charter-protected human rights and freedoms of teachers, workers, and all Albertans—all just to force teachers back to the classroom.”
Nenshi says the solution to the situation has been clear: to properly fund public education and negotiate in good faith with teachers.
“Alberta’s New Democrats unequivocally condemn this absolutely gross abuse of power that will shield this government for five years from any legal accountability.
As well, following the tabling of the bill, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees issued a statement saying they stand with Alberta’s teachers “in condemning the provincial government’s controversial decision to legislate them back to work.” AUPE President Sandra Azocar says this bill strips the teachers of their Charter-protected right to collective bargaining and sets a dangerous precedent for workers in Alberta.
“The Alberta Government’s use of the notwithstanding clause is reckless, authoritarian, and ideological overreach,” Azocar says. “AUPE is calling on the Alberta Government to set aside their anti-union ideology and get back to the bargaining table. Alberta’s teachers deserve the respect of a negotiated settlement, not an arbitrated decision forced on them by the government.”
She adds that through their actions, the government continues to show that their ideology matters more than “treating hard-working Albertans fairly.”
In a statement on social media, CUPE Alberta says the UCP Government has taken an unprecedented step in using the notwithstanding clause.
“The UCP is going so far as to change the rules of the Alberta Legislature to ram this bill through tonight, just hours after the public gets a look at it,” the statement reads. Going on to add that this is no longer just about teachers, but “if the UCP gets away with using the notwithstanding clause, they will use it again the next time any group of public sector workers chooses to strike.”
“If a group of CUPE health care workers, municipal workers, social service workers, even threaten to take job action, governments will impose the notwithstanding clause.”
CUPE says they will support teachers in the next steps and are in contact with other unions about the next steps.
The Alberta Teachers Association has posted on their website that it will be scheduling a member information session in the coming days.
