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Peace region teachers urge parents, residents to lobby the province

Teachers are urging parents and Fort St. John residents to lobby the province to make good on a recent Supreme Court ruling to restore class size limits and composition.

Teachers are urging parents and Fort St. John residents to lobby the province to make good on a recent Supreme Court ruling to restore class size limits and composition.

The Peace River North Teachers Association is applauding a ruling handed out Jan. 28, ruling that changes made to teacher contracts more than a decade ago were unconstitutional.

"We're very pleased with the ruling," said Michele Wiebe, president of the association, which represents more than 300 teachers in School District 60.

"Everybody should be putting pressure on the government to fund this."

Supreme Court Justice Susan Griffin ruled the B.C. government did not bargain in good faith when it enacted Bill 28 in 2002, which violated the bargaining rights of teachers for removing working conditions from the bargaining table. Griffin said the province did the same when it introduced a Bill 22 in 2012, though the courts had already struck down Bill 28 in 2011.

Griffin ordered the province to restore collective agreement provisions that capped class sizes and outlined teacher supports that were ultimately scrapped from school budgets as a result of the two bills, and awarded the province to pay the BC Teachers Federation $2 million in costs.

Since 2002, class sizes in the North Peace have increased, while the number of teachers, support staff and services for students has dwindled, impacting the quality of education, said Wiebe.

"What that has meant is 12 years of larger class sizes, composition didn't matter, so you could have complex needs students in the classroom without support," she said.

What that means for the school district remains to be seen — teachers across the province have been working without a contract since last June, though the province and BCTF continue to negotiate, Wiebe noted. Class sizes and composition can be again be bargained for under Griffin's ruling.

Doug Boyd, secretary-treasurer for SD60, said the district is waiting to see the government’s interpretation of the ruling, and its calculation of how much it would cost to implement.

"We're just waiting for the interpretation so we can clearly understand the implications to our district," said Boyd.

Premier Christy Clark has said the province will likely appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Wiebe, meanwhile, believes the school district can be a leader in acting on Griffin's decision.

"Everything we had in 2002, restore it back now and don't wait for the government to appeal, or find out what's going to happen provincially, but, be the leader in education and make the changes right now," she said, noting that second semester has just begun at North Peace Secondary School.

"Wouldn't it be great to have shops class down to 24 again, the biology and chemistry classes back down again?"

When asked about funding, PRNTA Vice-President Mary Tremain said it "behooves" the government to find the money to meet its contractual obligations.

"It is disturbing that it would come down to money anyone," said Tremain.

"These are our kids, right? Aren't we investing in our children? That's the ultimate question."