Alberta minister reveals labour relations board consent order; teachers’ lead negotiator resigns

CTV Edmonton's Nicole Lampa has the latest on Alberta teachers' dispute with the province.

Alberta’s finance minister says a labour relations board consent order shows there are only three outstanding bargaining issues between the province and its teachers—and none of them are about class size or complexity or student support.

Meanwhile, the lead negotiator for the teachers has reportedly now resigned, seeing no way forward.

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The following was posted to Peter MacKay’s Facebook page on Thursday evening:

“I’m just writing to let you know that I am resigning as CTBC (central table bargaining committee) 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.”

MacKay declined an interview request, saying, “My reasons for resigning aren’t really pertinent to the public, and teachers have enough going on without having to worry about how and why this came to pass for me.”

Comments left on MacKay’s post expressed sadness over the decision but also understanding.

Others expressed concern about what comes next.

CTV News reached out to the Alberta Teacher’s Association (ATA) but has not yet heard back.

In a release issued Thursday evening, Finance Minister Nate Horner said the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) and the ATA met earlier in the day “in an Alberta Labour Relations Board resolution conference to discuss the unfair labour practice complaint launched against the ATA by TEBA.”

Horner said a consent order was issued, which “clarifies that there are only three outstanding bargaining issues.”

He said those issues include:

• timing for implementation of the unified grid;
• an annual 1.5 per cent long service allowance for teachers at the maximum step of the grid; and
• COVID-19 vaccination coverage.

“This consent order makes clear that none of the outstanding items under negotiation are about classroom complexity, class size or support for students,” Horner said in the release.

The finance minister has said before and noted again that the provincial government’s current offer would:

• put 3,000 more teachers in Alberta classrooms; and
• invest $1.6 billion for diverse learning needs and complexity in classrooms, including $53 million for “classroom complexity grants.”

“I trust that this order will assist Alberta’s families and teachers in understanding the true nature of the ongoing negotiations,” Horner said in the release.