By Kaiden Brayshaw | LiveWire Calgary
In an email sent to the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s Provincial Executive Council, the association’s governing body, Peter Mackay, the central table bargaining committee chair, has resigned following a meeting with government.
“Hello all.
“I’m just writing to let you know that I am resigning as CTBC chair effective immediately. Thank you for the opportunity to serve in this role. I was hoping to see things through to the end of this round of bargaining, but I don’t see a path to doing so at this point.
“Best regards,” Mackay wrote.
The resignation comes after Finance Minister Nate Horner said he was pleased the Teacher’s Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) and ATA met in an Alberta Labour Relations Board (LRB) resolution conference to discuss the unfair labour practice complaint launched against the ATA, by TEBA.
The LRB issued a consent order as a result of the conference, effectively an agreement by both parties to resolve the complaint.
“This consent order makes clear that none of the outstanding items under negotiation are about classroom complexity, class size or support for students,” Horner’s statement read.
“Alberta’s government has already addressed these concerns through our current offer which would add 3,000 more teachers to classrooms. In addition, Budget 2025 invested $1.6 billion to support diverse learning needs and complexity in classrooms. This includes $53 million for classroom complexity grants.”
Outstanding items include timing for implementation of the unified grid. the ATA’s proposal for an annual one-point-five per cent long service allowance for teachers at the maximum step of the grid and coverage of the COVID-19 vaccination.
“I trust that this order will assist Alberta’s families and teachers in understanding the true nature of the ongoing negotiations.”
In a FaceBook post, Mackay said that government is about to” unleash” an ad campaign against teachers and their demands in bargaining.
“It will be paid for with public dollars, including the taxes paid by teachers and parents,” the post reads.
“Prepare yourselves, folks. You’ve been loud. You’ll need to be much, much louder. The message: this is a government that would rather spend public dollars on ads than on addressing what’s happening in Alberta’s public schools.”
ATA and TEBA are expected to continue bargaining. If a deal is not made, the Alberta teachers will strike on Oct. 6. Students in both the Calgary Board of Education and Calgary Catholic School District are to expect business as usual until official job action is announced.
