October 6 - So it Begins - The Alberta Teacher Strike

[Two Fivenagame]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

If children's artwork of all things bothers you I don't think you should be allowed out in public. Get a grip.

Yes, that was my point. Children's artwork bothers me. I will follow your advice and work hard to find something to hold onto with much strength and vigor!

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Account

UCP used the notwithstanding clause. Classes to resume Wednesday.

ATA yet to respond publicly. More details:

https://www.play1037.ca/2025/10/27/c...-back-to-work/

Your link doesn't work? Can anyone confirm this was used? This would be a horrific abuse of democracy and is going to literally blow the province up tomorrow.

[MacDaddy77]

The only places that published that were play 107 and St. Albert Gazette and neither places link works so I'll hold off until reputable sites pick it up.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

Your link doesn't work? Can anyone confirm this was used? This would be a horrific abuse of democracy and is going to literally blow the province up tomorrow.

Word is the media was briefed earlier but can't report it until the announcement, but the announcement got delayed. Few outlets still released it at the original announcement time then quickly pulled it.

Guess we'll see

[Locke]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Account

UCP used the notwithstanding clause. Classes to resume Wednesday.

ATA yet to respond publicly. More details:

https://www.play1037.ca/2025/10/27/c...-back-to-work/

Aw man...traffic is going to suck again...

[Flames0910]

Somebody from reddit grabbed the text of the article. Again, media was briefed this morning so even though the Bill has yet to be tabled there's a high likelihood that this is accurate.

EDMONTON — Alberta teachers and students are returning to classrooms Wednesday after the provincial government moved to end the province wide teachers strike with back to work legislation and a renewed focus on classroom complexity.

Bill 2, called the Back to School Act, imposes a four-year agreement covering about 51,000 public, separate and Francophone school teachers. The province says the terms match a memorandum of understanding reached Sept. 23 between the Teachers Employer Bargaining Association and the Alberta Teachers Association. Teachers later rejected those terms in a province-wide vote.

The legislation invokes the notwithstanding clause to prevent Charter challenges and halt further job action. The government says Alberta’s two-tier bargaining structure creates the risk of rolling local strikes in 61 school divisions once central bargaining ends.

Teachers who fail to comply with the order to return to classrooms can be fined up to 500 dollars per day. The ATA or its locals can be fined up to 500,000 dollars per day for illegal job action.

More than 700,000 students have been away from school for more than three weeks, which the government says has caused significant disruption to learning. Officials noted research indicating younger students can suffer academic setbacks, reduced confidence and long recovery periods during prolonged school closures.

Premier Danielle Smith said the strike highlighted ongoing staffing and safety concerns raised by teachers about increasingly complex classrooms.

“Teachers have made it clear that addressing classroom complexity and safety are among the most critical improvements needed in our education system,” Smith said. “Parents, teachers and students all want the same thing, safe and supportive classrooms where every child can succeed.”

The government will create a Class Size and Complexity Task Force to address rising behavioural and learning support needs. It will implement recommendations from the Aggression and Complexity in Schools Action Team, which delivered a draft report to government this month. That report will be released publicly and will guide changes including replacing the 2004 Standards for Special Education.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said aggressive incidents in schools have increased and that teachers require more resources.

“No teacher should ever be harmed while doing their job,” Nicolaides said. “Classrooms are becoming more complex.”

The province says Budget 2025 included 55 million dollars to help address classroom complexity, a 20 per cent increase from the previous year. It has also committed 300 million dollars over three years to support the hiring of 3,000 net new teachers and 1,500 education assistants.

School boards may also use funds for student assessments and therapy supports including occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech language services.

Information on class sizes and class composition will begin being collected from school divisions in November and be published annually. The government says that data will help target resources where they are most needed.

Finance Minister Nate Horner said the government acted after 18 months of negotiations failed to reach a ratified deal and students “were paying the price.” Horner said no formal local bargaining will take place during the life of the contract to prevent new strike or lockout actions.

School districts including Fort McMurray Public and Fort McMurray Catholic expect teachers and students back in classrooms Wednesday. The province notes there are no provisions in the legislation for recovering lost instructional time.

The notwithstanding clause will apply for the duration of the imposed contract, from Sept. 1, 2024, to August 2028.

[Point Blank]

If this actually happens, this is crazy and should concern all of us.

[Locke]

What?? Effective through to August 2028? What am I missing here?

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Locke

That doesnt matter. It was a condition of Alberta's acceptance of Confederation. Did Quebec stipulate that when they signed? I dont know. Did they have more 'wiggle room?' I dont know.

Yeah, everywhere that had separate denominational school systems at the time of joining Canada (or at Confederation for the original provinces) were required to maintain that.

But it's not hard to change that now, as Quebec and Newfoundland have done in recent decades. All it takes is a Constitutional Amendment, which in cases where it only involves a single province (as this situation would) simply requires a majority vote in the Provincial Legislature and then assent from the Federal Government.

[btimbit]

That's disgusting

[The Fisher Account]

Originally Posted by Locke

What?? Effective through to August 2028? What am I missing here?

End of the proposed 4 year agreement (2024-2028).

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by Locke

What?? Effective through to August 2028? What am I missing here?

Seems like the province is forcing them to accept the 4yr agreement they voted heavily against back in late sept.

[Geraldsh]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Seems like the province is forcing them to accept the 4yr agreement they voted heavily against back in late sept.

I hope all the other unions step up like they have threatened to or it’s goodbye Alberta democracy.
ANDP better be ready to hit the ground running.

[Hot_Flatus]

This is so disgusting. Rise up people. There needs to be a mass protest of this abuse of power.

[Flabbibulin]

fwiw, it hasn't actually happened yet. lets see. If it does, yikes!

[malcolmk14]

Someone jumped the gun on the embargo and published.

The text above is correct. She used the notwithstanding clause. Also pre-empted local bargaining so there can't be local rolling strikes in the 61 school divisions.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Seems like the province is forcing them to accept the 4yr agreement they voted heavily against back in late sept.

Unreal that that's even legal

[Hot_Flatus]

Like actually can someone please start a thread to organize a mass protest - is that something we can do on CP? This is so wrong from so many different angles and I never truly thought Alberta would see this day.

[Sylvanfan]

Province did exactly what I thought they would. Although it was pretty easy to predict.

My neighbor who is a teacher along with his wife was saying that if this did happen, likely means no extra curricular stuff this year.

I am sure many wealthy UCP backers have their privatized ones ready to offer up at a hefty premium.

[direwolf]

Really hope the unions stand their ground and fight like hell. If the UCP actually goes through with this, I have a feeling this battle is about to get very nasty.