Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says back-to-work legislation for striking teachers will be introduced and debated Monday.
Smith announced that Bill 2: The Back to School Act will be the first piece of legislation discussed when MLAs return to the legislature. The move comes as the province enters its fall sitting, with thousands of teachers gathering outside the legislature in protest.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) confirmed it’s aware of the pending bill but says the full impact won’t be clear until it’s officially tabled. “As the bill has not yet been tabled in the legislature, its full implications for teachers are unclear at this time,” the ATA said in a statement.
Finance Minister Nate Horner says the goal is to have teachers and students back in classrooms as early as Monday.
Meanwhile, NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi is calling the move “the biggest abuse of democratic rights in Alberta’s history,” accusing the government of changing legislative rules to push the bill through more quickly.
Teachers across the province have been on strike for nearly three weeks. Their contract expired August 31, 2024, with negotiations at a standstill over wages and class complexity.
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