‘Very contentious territory’: Teachers in Lethbridge and across Alberta forced back to class

Early on Tuesday morning, the UCP passed a bill using the notwithstanding clause to order the province's 51,000 striking teachers back to work.

Alberta’s teachers are going back to school on Wednesday after the UCP government voted to end their strike.

Early Tuesday morning, the province passed Bill 2, invoking the notwithstanding clause to order 51,000 teachers back to work.

Teachers have no recourse and are forced to accept a deal they already rejected.

It’ll be back to class for students as well come Wednesday morning.

“I know this has been an incredibly difficult start to the school year for students who have already experienced too many disruptions in their educational journeys. It has also been challenging for teachers, who we all know want to be in the classroom doing what they love,” said Premier Danielle Smith.

The province imposed a 12 per cent wage hike over four years with a promise to hire 3,000 teachers and 1,500 educational assistants—the same agreement teachers rejected by almost 90 per cent in September.

“What happens is it puts teachers and students right back into the same conditions before this strike began. … Not a single change—nothing to make these classrooms better,” said Amanda Chapman, the Alberta NDP’s shadow minister of education.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) will launch legal challenges against the province.

“We will leave no stone unturned to try and get government to reverse this decision that they made to invoke the notwithstanding clause,” said Jason Schilling, ATA president.

Teachers that don’t head back to class could face stiff fines.

“With penalties of up to $500 a day for individuals participating in illegal strike action and up to $500,000 a day for organizations,” said Finance Minister Nate Horner.

This is only the second time the province has invoked the notwithstanding clause and the first time it’s been done to end a labour action.

“This is very contentious territory because it’s basically the province saying you have the right to strike, you have a right to collective action to a point and then we will drop the hammer,” said Lars Hallstrom, University of Lethbridge political science professor.

In a statement, the Lethbridge School Division says it “recognizes this has been an incredibly challenging time.”

“We ask for your ongoing understanding (and) patience as we transition back into classroom routines and the return to in-person learning,” it said.

The Holy Spirit Catholic School Division says it will work closely with principals to ensure teachers have the guidance and support they need to make the return to learning as smooth as possible.

Meanwhile, Schilling says he feels “like teachers have made a difference in this province.”

“They stood up for themselves, they stood up for their students and they stood up for public education,” he said.