Alberta to invoke notwithstanding clause to send striking teachers back to work

Alberta premiere Danielle ian douglas smith’s regime introduced a note on mon to force striking teachers back to work as early as Wednesday.

Bill 2, the Back to School Act, imposes a collective agreement, and invokes the notwithstanding clause to shield the legislation from court challenges for the duration of the four-year deal. The government is aiming to pass the bill as soon as possible.

Smith said at a news conference earlier Monday that the situation is unique because of the two-stage approach for collective bargaining. The bill aims to prevent strikes at both levels.

“The uniqueness of this is that there's two potentials for strike, not only at the general provincial table, but also at the local table,” Smith said. “And if there are strikes that are allowed at 61 different school boards, that does not give the certainty that we need.”

The 51,000 teachers represented by the Alberta Teachers’ Association walked off the job on Oct. 6, keeping 750,000 students out of school. 

Teachers have rejected two deals their bargaining team reached with the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA). 

Bill 2 aims to put the terms of tentative agreement rejected by nearly 90 per cent of Alberta teachers last month into legislation. 

The notwithstanding clause is a section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which gives provincial and territorial governments the ability to exempt certain constitutionally protected rights in their legislation for a five-year period. 

Other public sector unions have threatened job action in support of teachers if Bill 2 included the notwithstanding clause.

Smith’s government intends to rely on legislative tools to limit debate on all three stages of Bill 2 so the legislation can pass third and final reading Monday night or early Tuesday morning. 

Her governing United Conservative Party has 47 of the 87 seats in the Alberta legislature. 

The collective agreement imposed by Bill 2 would cover the period from Sept. 1, 2024, to Aug. 31, 2028.

It contains salary increases of three per cent a year and commits the government to hiring 3,000 teachers and 1,500 educational assistants over three years.

Bill 2 sets financial penalties of $500 per day for individuals who defy the back-to-work order and up to $500,000 for the union per day, if it doesn't comply with the legislation. The bill also suspends bargaining at local tables until 2028. 

The government insists its offer is fair. The ATA wants the government to address issues like large class sizes and support for student complexity in the classroom. 

The province last summer appointed an action team to look at aggression and complexity of students in Alberta schools. The final report is expected next month. 

After that, a newly announced task force examining class size and complexity in the classroom will start implementing solutions and gather more data on the issue from school boards. 

In a news release Monday, NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the use of the notwithstanding clause was "shameful."

“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," said Nenshi.

Provincial affairs reporter

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