The Alberta Teachers’ Association, as the professional organization of teachers, promotes and advances public education, supports professional practice and serves as the advocate for its members. Editor-in-Chief: Kristine Wilkinson | kristine.wilkinson@ata.ab.ca | 780-447-9476 Managing Editor: Lindsay Yakimyshyn | lindsay.yakimyshyn@ata.ab.ca | 780-447-9425 Advertising: Trevor Battye Advertising Sales | trevor@tbasales.ca | 1-778-773-9397 Designer: John Labots Graphic Design Inc. Copy Editors: ATA Editorial Staff
November 18, 2025
Volume 60, Number 5
EDITORIAL Kristine Wilkinson ATA News Editor-in-Chief The strike is over, but the work isn’t
rejected, suspends local bargaining until August 2028 and threatens substantial fines for noncompliance. In other words, teachers were forced to return to work, abide by the imposed contract and stop striking. Teachers feel exhausted, and understandably so. Months of negotiation, mediation, strike action and public scrutiny have taken their toll. On the one hand, there’s some sense of relief in being back in classrooms, as teachers are back doing what they signed up for, interacting with students and reclaiming routine. But on the other hand, there’s frustration that teachers had to return to work without consent even though the conditions that led them to strike—larger class sizes, increasing complexity, fewer supports—haven’t been addressed. Some teachers are demoralized, having experienced the emotional struggle and physical energy of engaging in activism only to have their rights undermined. The bill denied teachers a “normal” conclusion to the strike resulting in deep frustration, confusion and recrimination. Many members are deeply hurt and in a form of “moral mourning,” wondering whether their sacrifice and hard work over the past months was worth it. Association leadership and staff have heard from members and share this pain, even as we have been formulating a response that will allow the Association and teachers to continue to pursue our legitimate strike objectives, albeit by other means. At an emergent meeting on November 12, Provincial Executive Council confirmed several measures that were already being undertaken, and approved additional responses, the sum of which comprise a comprehensive plan that will guide Association action over the next few months. In broad strokes these include • engaging strategically and purposefully with government to advance teacher interests. This includes naming an Association representative to the Class Size and Complexity Cabinet Committee established and chaired by the premier, the first time in the history of the Association that teachers have been afforded direct access to the top-level decision makers in education; • mounting a legal challenge of the Back to School Act and specifically its use of the notwithstanding
If collective bargaining can be overridden so dramatically, what does that say about our agency in the profession? What does this mean for the union function of the ATA? In this moment, the ATA’s role remains vital. The collective agreement still exists. Rights and obligations still exist. The ATA monitors the agreement’s implementation and steps in when it isn’t being upheld by the employer. The strike’s end doesn’t mean resolution of the underlying issues in public education, and adhering to the imposed collective agreement doesn’t mean accepting the status quo. It means we use other tools at our disposal and avoid slipping into “why bother” rhetoric. We enter the classroom, uphold our professional standards and collaborate with colleagues—yes—but we also keep the pressure alive, quietly and steadily, for the conditions that make our work meaningful and sustainable. clause, including applying for an interlocutory injunction; • advocating, in concert with civil society and other unions in Alberta and across the country, opposition to the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause; • promoting and participating in the citizens’initiative to restrict the use of public funds for public education; • enforcing aggressively and vigorously the terms of the collective agreements imposed by Bill 2 through individual and policy grievances; • reviewing and revitalizing of local communications officers’ and local political engagement officers’ programs, examining their current roles and responsibilities, and how their critical work might be better supported; • ongoing, refocused media public relations and advocacy campaigns making use of existing and new channels and modes of communication; and • reviewing and assessing the role of local bargaining units and teacher welfare committees in light of the Bill 2 prohibition on local bargaining, providing support and direction as appropriate. While the eight strategies outlined here will together constitute a comprehensive and, I believe, effective response to the government’s actions
The ATA remains the vehicle through which issues that affect teachers and school leaders continue to be addressed and pressed. Teachers are under stress. The ATA offers channels for discussion, for representation and for reminding members they are not alone. When teachers walked back into schools, many carried two bags. One was filled with lesson plans, greetings from students and even some hope. The other was heavier, filled with questions about respect, rights and what all that has happened means for our profession. The ATA is here to help with that second bag. Because returning to work isn’t just about showing up. It’s about showing resolve and using our collective voice to secure the respectful, resourced and valued teaching and learning environments the province deserves.
W hen the call finally came for teachers to return to classrooms, teachers felt a heavy dose of unease.The strike is over—for now—but for many in the profession, the path forward under Bill 2 doesn’t feel like a victory. It feels like a reset, and on someone else’s terms. To recap where we stand, Bill 2 ended teachers’ lawful strike action. But it did more than that. It also undermined their rights. By invoking the notwithstanding clause, the province chose to override the Charter-protected rights of association and collective bargaining. The legislation imposes the collective agreement that the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) had already
I welcome your comments. Contact me at kristine.wilkinson@ata.ab.ca.
Hard circumstances lead to hard decisions Q & A
while continuing to advance teacher interests and build Association capacity, some members will wonder why other possible actions were not taken. In determining the Association’s response, Provincial Executive Council had to consider several fundamental questions: • What is the likely outcome of the proposed action and in what timeframe? • What degree of control and support (among teachers and in the community) would the Association have in implementing the proposed action? • How would the action actually advance the interests of teachers? • What risks, costs and consequences would the action impose upon individual members and the Association, and how do these compare to the anticipated benefits? You will appreciate that these are questions that your elected leaders could not ignore or gloss over. Hard circumstances lead to hard questions and hard decisions. Over the next few weeks and months, you will be hearing more about our progress in implementing these strategies. Some, I suspect, will generate their own Q&As. Questions for consideration in this column are welcome. Please address them to Dennis Theobald at dennis. theobald@ata.ab.ca.
Dennis Theobald ATA Executive Secretary
Question: How is the Association planning to respond to Bill 2? Answer: The passage of Bill 2, the Back to School Act , in the middle of the night and after less than a day’s worth of debate, pulled the rug out from under teachers and ended the strike which, at that point, had been ongoing for 16 instructional days. As reported elsewhere in this edition of the News , the bill legislated a settlement, precluded any further bargaining, mediation or arbitration at the provincial level and eliminated local table bargaining entirely. To insulate the bill from an inevitable and highly credible constitutional challenge, the government took the unprecedented step of invoking the Section 33 provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “notwithstanding clause”), applying them in their entirety to the entire content of the act. Included in the bill were draconian penalties that would be imposed on the Association and individual members for any action that would seek to continue the strike or promote further labour action (as broadly defined in Alberta’s Labour Relations Code ).
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