Alberta Teachers’ Association speaks out against referendum questions

One of the upcoming referendum questions has raised concerns with the Alberta Teachers' Association. Hannah Lepine has more.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association is speaking out against immigration questions on the fall referendum.

One of the five questions relating to immigration on the ballot asks:

Do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law mandating that only Canadian citizens, permanent residents and individuals with an Alberta-approved immigration status will be eligible for provincially funded programs, such as health care, education and other social services?

ATA president Jason Schilling said in a statement, access to education should not depend on a child’s immigration status.

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He is urging Albertans to reject any referendum question that would limit who can attend publicly funded schools.

“Children do not choose their immigration status, and they should not be denied an education because of it,” says Schilling.

If the majority of Albertans vote in favour of all five immigration questions, it could also mean temporary residents will be charged a premium for education and health care.

Schilling says Canada signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both of which recognize education as a right for every child.

He also raises concerns about school staff potentially acting as “immigration authorities.”

“When children are excluded from school, everyone loses. Children become isolated, families become disconnected and communities become weaker,” adds Schilling.

‘Misleading claim’

In a statement to CTV News, Alberta Education said the ATA’s comments about the referendum questions are “disappointing.”

“(It’s a) misleading claim in an attempt to stoke division,” the statement read.

The ministry said no children, including those of temporary residents or temporary foreign workers, would be denied an education in Alberta.

“If a ‘yes’ vote occurs on Question 4, it simply means that temporary residents would be required to pay a reasonable fee to enroll their children in Alberta’s publicly funded K–12 education system. This fee would help offset the cost of providing public education to those students," the statement continued.

“It is estimated that children of temporary foreign workers attending Alberta schools have cost taxpayers approximately $600 million in each of the past two school years.”

Alberta’s referendum is set for Oct. 19.