The province and the teachers’ union have worked out a $50-million interim agreement that will allow school districts to hire about 1,100 more staff in this school year. With an election coming in May, the B.C. Liberals will likely try to spin this agreement to their advantage, but it should be remembered that the deal only partly compensates for the mess the government created 14 years ago.
A whole generation of B.C. students has gone from kindergarten to Grade 12 and out into the world in the time it has taken the courts to rule finally that B.C. teachers have the right to bargain things such as class size and composition. That whole generation of students has not known a school year without the constant threat of a strike or lockout.
It was a fight the provincial government should never have begun, and one it should have stopped years ago.
In 2002, the government of then-premier Gordon Campbell decided to legislate away the bargaining rights of teachers. Leading the charge against teachers was the education minister of the day, Christy Clark.
Before 2002, the collective agreement with teachers set limits on the total number of students in a classroom, capped the number with special needs and required certain numbers of counsellors, librarians and other specialist teachers.
Bill 28 unilaterally scrapped the contract, and said that class size and composition were no longer up for negotiation.
The teachers fought back in court, and the law was found unconstitutional in 2011. Instead of bowing to the court’s decision, Clark’s government introduced similar legislation the following year to end a teachers’ strike.
The B.C. Supreme Court Justice Susan Griffin slapped down that law, as well, saying two constitutional wrongs don’t make a right. But the province didn’t back down, taking the case to the B.C. Court of Appeal, which upheld the new law.
One appeal-court justice, Ian Donald, dissented. In the end, it was Donald’s reasoning that persuaded the Supreme Court in its ruling on the case.
Donald wrote: “This case is the culmination of at least 13 years of systemic and institutionalized negation of the BCTF’s … right to associate collectively to achieve important workplace goals.”
As ill-conceived as Bill 28 was, it was the Liberals’ refusal to back down over those years that particularly rankles. They had a couple of opportunities to change course, but instead, chose to appeal. They appeared to delight in putting the boot to the teachers at every opportunity, exacerbating what has probably been the most poisonous labour-relations climate in the province.
The government has changed its tune.
“We don’t know how much it’s going to cost, but, you know, I think investing in kids is a good investment,” Clark said last fall after the court decision.
It’s certainly a better investment than paying out legal fees for court challenges.
The government’s change of heart has undoubtedly been sparked by its spanking from the Supreme Court, as well as by the impending provincial election.
No matter how cynical or self-serving the motivations, this is an opportunity for both sides to work more co-operatively, putting education of children ahead of political and philosophical differences.
It means students could start a new school year with confidence their education will not be interrupted by labour disputes.
Could this be the dawning of a new era for B.C.? We hope so.
