I wrote this issue’s column while sitting in the Ottawa airport awaiting my return flight to Edmonton after a Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF-FCE) board of directors meeting. I am grateful for these meetings and the CTF-FCE, which provides a national voice to issues facing teachers from coast to coast to coast.
As I participated in the meetings, I was once again struck by how many of the challenges faced by Alberta teachers are shared by our colleagues across Canada. Teacher retention and recruitment issues plague every region, with many of our colleagues reporting substitute teacher shortages, large class sizes and a lack resources for their students. Aggression and violence are also a national concern, with governments responding with a variety of approaches that range from temporary fixes to sincere efforts to work with teachers on solutions.
The meeting also reminded me that bad ideas travel quickly across provincial borders. For instance, this week the Ford government in Ontario tabled Bill 101, which looks to reduce the power of school trustees and put that power in the hands of the minister of education. Sounds a lot like Alberta’s Bill 25. Ontario is also looking to fast-track teacher credentials, just like what we will be seeing in Alberta, as the government here will be looking for ways to certify new teachers. The conversations around the CTF table allow us to share situational awareness and the approaches the other member organizations are taking to address current and emerging issues. Like every great teacher, we learn from one another, and the collegiality at the table is immeasurable.
During our meeting we also talked about the upcoming negotiations that many other provinces are about to begin. Many member organizations will most likely experience a difficult round of bargaining. As Alberta teachers know, governments are not so keen to fund public education in the way it should be funded.
During the teacher strike last October, I was immensely grateful to our colleagues across the country and their unions for the unwavering support during and after our job action. As our colleagues enter their own difficult negotiations, I know that Alberta teachers will be there in their Red for Ed gear to show that public education matters no matter where you live in Canada and that we will stand in solidarity with them, just as they did with us.
