https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...nces-1.7632720
This article really opened my eyes.
I remember growing up and even after starting work, it was always that Alberta teachers, nurses and other public sector employees were the best paid in Canada which is part of that Alberta advantage. Now it's just horrifically eroded to the point where 12% over 4 years is just laughable. I'd say you need something like 10-15% immediate bump (and I think this is even too low) and then 12% over 4 years to regain some ground that's been lost.
The 6.5B deficit is not the teacher's problem. The fact that the UCP did a tax cut which reduced revenues by over a billion dollars is not the teacher's problem. Pay the teachers.
And regarding the issue with classroom complexity, I'm really worried about my son (not yet in kindergarten) who's extremely passive and struggles to actively interact with adults and teachers. When he's in his swimming or sports classes, he rarely participates until the teacher really engages him (and then he's fantastic and enjoys doing it). I have this sinking feeling that my son is the exact prototype of kid that gets left behind when we're talking about large class sizes and multitudes of needs - he's quiet, attentive, listens to instructions, not violent at all, but without that active engagement, I fear he's gonna fall through the cracks on the education front.