Striking Alberta teachers and supporters hold a protest outside Rogers Place in Edmonton in mid-October. The government has vowed to pass the back-to-work order quickly so students can return to class as early as Wednesday.Aaron Sousa/The Canadian Press
The Alberta government is invoking the Charter’s notwithstanding clause in back-to-work legislation that will force public school teachers to return to class after a three-week strike, a move that organized labour leaders said could cause an “unprecedented response” by unions across the province.
If passed, the bill would use the notwithstanding clause, which allows governments to shield legislation from Charter challenges in court, to override Alberta teachers’ Charter right to strike or bargain collectively.
The decision to invoke the clause – a measure rarely taken by governments and even more infrequently used to end labour disputes – could lead to broad labour action in Alberta.
Last Friday, the Alberta Federation of Labour warned Premier Danielle Smith that using the notwithstanding clause would “escalate the situation from a confrontation between your government and the teachers to a confrontation between you and the entire Canadian labour movement.”
Under the legislation, teachers would be forced to accept the tentative agreement that 89.5 per cent of them voted against in late September. That vote ultimately triggered the strike beginning Oct. 6.
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“There’s just too much damage that is happening already to the students, and we certainly don’t want to see that continue,” Ms. Smith said at a Monday news conference in Edmonton.
“That’s why we’re putting this legislation forward, so that we can end it now.”
It is the first time her government has invoked the clause.
Ms. Smith’s governing United Conservative Party has majority rule in the Alberta Legislature and has committed to quickly passing the bill so students can return to school as soon as Wednesday.
Once the bill receives royal assent, teachers who continue to strike can face fines up to $500 per day and unions can face separate penalties of up to $500,000 a day.
The deal being imposed by the government would expire in 2028. It provides teachers with a 12-per-cent salary raise over four years, and commits the government to hiring 3,000 teachers and 1,500 educational assistants.
Alberta teachers say they aren’t equipped to help students with complex needs
Negotiations between the Alberta Teachers’ Association have largely come to a halt since the start of the strike. The province recently proposed the parties enter non-binding mediation to end the strike, which the ATA rejected because of a provision that meant class caps or student-teacher ratios wouldn’t be up for discussion. Provisions for those issues were critical components the ATA wanted in a final agreement.
The ATA has been asking for class-size limits and provisions for students with complex needs resulting from factors such as behavioural, cognitive or social and emotional issues.
The final agreement does not address those concerns. In late June, Alberta assembled a task force to look at complex needs and issues of aggression in classrooms, and was to deliver a report to Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides as early as Sept. 30. His office confirmed to The Globe last week that he had received it.
Though the government hasn’t committed funding yet, Ms. Smith said the government intends to replacing Alberta’s 21-year-old standards for special education and working with school boards to collect information and data on class size and composition.
Alberta teachers protest at legislature as fall sitting begins
It was unclear Monday afternoon what steps other organized labour groups were willing to take in reaction to the government’s decision to invoke the clause. Finance Minister Nate Horner said there would be “consequences” for unions that stage surprise strikes.
Ms. Smith discouraged unions from undertaking wildcat strikes and said she hopes they look at the details in the agreement before taking action.
“We think kids have been disrupted enough, so I don’t think people should draw some sort of general application that this is the approach that we would take in every instance of labour action,” Ms. Smith said.
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi on Monday, his first day sitting in the Alberta Legislature after winning a byelection earlier this year, said the possible invoking of the notwithstanding clause would be the “nuclear option.”
“Albertans will be forgiven for asking themselves, ‘Who’s next?’” Mr. Nenshi said.
“What rights does this premier want to defend and which ones is she willing to trample and for whom?”