The president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) says it has pushed back a court challenge of the province’s use of the notwithstanding clause to next year. “We pushed it back into 2027 so that we could see the outcomes of some of the other notwithstanding court cases across Canada,” said ATA president Jason Schilling on Alberta Primetime Friday, pointing to cases in Quebec and Saskatchewan. “That will best help our case out.” The United Conservative Party government used the notwithstanding clause last October after thousands of teachers across Alberta went on a three-week strike, effectively forcing them back to work. Bill 2, or the Back to School Act, legislated the terms of an agreement that the majority of ATA members rejected, which included a 12-per cent salary increase over four years, additional market adjustments of up to 17 per cent for most teachers, and the hiring of 3,000 teachers and 1,500 educational assistants. Just days later, the ATA launched a legal challenge of the legislation, asking the courts to declare the government’s use of the notwithstanding clause improper and invalid and a violation of the charter of rights to freedom of association and expression. The ATA would also ask to declare that the bill’s Section 14, which it says is the government’s attempt at evading judicial review, unconstitutional. Section 14 is essentially a legal immunity clause that prevents anyone from taking legal action against the Alberta government on matters related to Bill 2. “The stripping of charter rights is still very much a wound that teachers feel across this province,” said Schilling. “It’s something that government will have to address through the course of this year.” A hearing was initially set for September but has been delayed to July 2027. With files from Alberta Primetime’s Michael Higgins
