4 ❚ The ATA News , November 18, 2025
ATA launches legal challenge against Bill 2
ATA News Staff
protects all Albertans.We cannot take the rule of law for granted; if we do, it may not be there to protect our rights when we most need it.” Premier, education minister on defense Premier Danielle Smith defended the legislation as necessary to restore stability to Alberta’s schools and classrooms, stating that prolonged labour disruptions were causing irreparable harm to students’ education. In an open letter to teachers, Smith acknowledged that back-to-work legislation was not the desired outcome for teachers. “Our government did not make the decision to introduce the Back to School Act lightly,” she said. “Our intent is to ensure that students return to the classroom while we work together to address the real and pressing issues in our schools.” Minister of Education and Childcare Demetrios Nicolaides likewise spoke of the need to reopen schools to restore stability for students. “Students should not pay the price for this strike action, which unfortunately they are. Obviously, that has to be the paramount consideration in everything that we do,” he said. ATA calls for government “to do what is right” Even as the ATA challenges Bill 2 in the courts, it is also calling upon the government to reconsider its use of the notwithstanding clause to order teachers back to work. In a letter to Smith and Nicolaides dated November 4, Schilling entreated them “to do what is right” and repeal Bill 2, particularly its use of the notwithstanding clause. “There are solutions to the accumulated challenges facing Alberta’s public education system and the teachers who work every day within it,” the letter said. “What Albertans require from you is the political will to reach agreement on concrete solutions that teachers, students, parents and Albertans can have confidence in.” The outcome of the ATA’s challenge will likely shape not only the future of teacher labour relations in Alberta but also the broader debate over government limits and the protection of constitutional rights across Canada. As the challenge moves forward, it will likely clarify the limits of the notwithstanding clause and its impact on workers’ rights within Alberta and within Canada.
T he Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) has launched a legal challenge against the provincial government’s use of the notwithstanding clause to end the provincewide teachers’ strike after calling the move “a reckless and historic abuse of power.” On November 6, the ATA filed an application with the Court of King’s Bench seeking to overturn sections of Bill 2, the Back to School Act , which ordered Alberta’s striking teachers and school leaders back to work and imposed a collective agreement onATA members.TheATA also requested an injunction to immediately halt enforcement of the legislation while the legal challenge proceeds. “This government’s overreaching decision to invoke the notwithstanding clause goes beyond forcing teachers to end a lawful strike,” said ATA president Jason Schilling. “It imposes a settlement, restricts free collective bargaining, and sets a precedent that threatens the fundamental freedoms and legal protections of all Albertans.” While the notwithstanding clause shields legislation from most legal challenges under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the ATA’s legal counsel believes there are avenues to argue that the government’s actions constitute overreach and violate broader principles of administrative and labour law. What Bill 2 means The controversial legislation, introduced on October 27 and passed through the provincial legislature in less than 12 hours, retroactively applies a central collective agreement from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2028.This agreement was rejected earlier this fall by 89.5 per cent of teachers. Bill 2 not only prohibits teachers from striking for the duration of the agreement, but also suspends local bargaining while the agreement is in effect. In addition, the bill outlines significant penalties for noncompliance, including fines of up to $500 per teacher per day and $500,000 per day for the ATA. While the ATA and its members complied with the back-to-work order, Schilling emphasized that the imposed resolution failed to address the underlying issues that triggered the strike in the first place, including overcrowded classrooms, chronic underfunding and insufficient support for students with complex needs. “We will challenge this legislation in the courts, Need-to-know Teacher retroactive pay F ollowing the teachers’strike and the return- to-work legislation, retroactive pay for teachers will be handled according to the following guidelines. For teachers who are still with the same employer: Teachers who provided service for a school division after September 1, 2024 are eligible to receive retroactive pay.This includes substitute teachers. Retroactive pay will be handled automatically by the employer. For teachers who have changed employers: For teachers who are no longer employed by the school division for which they provided service during the eligibility period, retroactive pay is not automatic . These teachers need to contact the payroll or finance department of their former school division(s) and request (1) that they receive their retroactive salary (including appropriate allowances) from the 2024–25 school year and (2) the required application form. School boards will also be reaching out to these teachers. Applications made later than January 15, 2026 will not be processed unless the teacher can demonstrate that exceptional circumstances prevented a timely application. If you have any questions about your specific case, please reach out to your school board or contact the ATA’s Teacher Employment Services team at 1-800-232-7208.
ATA president Jason Schilling announcing the legal challenge.
in our communities and in the very conscience of Albertans,” he said.“While Alberta may have ended the strike, they have not ended the crisis in Alberta’s classrooms.” Critics denounce the bill Opposition leaders condemned the government’s actions as authoritarian and undemocratic. NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi accused Premier Smith and her cabinet of using the notwithstanding clause to bypass democratic processes and override workers’ rights. “They trampled over the rights of teachers and their unions,” Nenshi said, adding that “the strike was entirely of the UCP’s own making.” Civil society groups, professional organizations, unions, and even churches and religious groups from across Canada also spoke out against the use of the notwithstanding clause. Many viewed the matter as serious and important for the future of collective bargaining—not just for teachers, but for all unionized employees and Albertans who are at risk of similar breaches of their rights. “The pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause cannot be allowed to normalize. Neither should the curtailment of legislative debate become routine,” said a statement from Christopher N. Samuel, president of the Canadian Bar Association, Alberta Branch. “Overuse of these extraordinary measures—especially when coupled with provisions that also set aside the Alberta Bill of Rights and the Alberta Human Rights Act —risks undermining the constitutional and human-rights architecture that
Recall petition targets Education and Childcare minister
Kim Clement ATA News Staff A recall petition has been formally issued against Minister of Education and Childcare and Calgary-Bow UCP MLA Demetrios Nicolaides, citing concerns about public education funding, classroom conditions and government priorities. The petition was filed by Calgary resident Jennifer Yerimiy, who argues that schools are facing growing pressures while government policy is increasingly favouring charter and private school expansion. The petition notices state that public schools are facing “overcrowded classrooms, inappropriate curricula, inadequate resources and insufficient funding and staff” while charter/private-school funding is slated to rise from $42 million in 2022 to $561 million by 2027. “I launched this petition because recall legislation is the only means to hold my representative accountable for not listening to the advice of his constituents,” said Yerimiy. In his formal statement to Elections Alberta, Nicolaides spoke against the petition. He argues that the recall process should be reserved for cases of “breach of public trust, ethical violations or sustained dereliction of local duty” not “dissatisfaction with government policy.”
He went on to state that he was elected in 2023 to represent his constituents and his party platform, and warned that using recall to overturn election results based on policy disagreements “undermines stable governance and the electoral process.” Under Alberta’s Recall Ac t, a recall petition must be signed by 60 per cent of eligible voters in the
CHRIS SCHWARZ/GOVERNMENT OF ALBERTA
Minister of Education and Childcare at a press conference on Nov. 3.
constituency. In Calgary-Bow, this represents 16,006 signatures, based on the 26,676 ballots cast in the 2023 provincial election. Only eligible electors living in Calgary-Bow can sign the petition, which must be completed within 90 days. If the petition meets the required threshold, Calgary-Bow voters will vote on whether to recall Nicolaides. Should more than 50 per cent of voters in the jurisdiction support the recall, a byelection will be triggered.
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