Score one for the province.
The BC Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the government April 30 in the latest chapter in the 13-year long saga between the provincial government and the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF).
This latest court decision means 2012 provincial legislation that class sizes and class composition could not be collectively bargained by the teachers’ union is legal. This ruling also overturns earlier decisions in lower courts that ruled in favour of the teachers by concluding the province didn’t consult in good faith with the BCTF and had denied teachers freedom of association.
Local teachers are disappointed, said Sea to Sky Teachers’ Association president Carl Walker, but the decision was not unexpected.
“We will continue to advocate for our students. We disagree fundamentally with the decision,” he said.
Walker said he was heartened by the dissent of Justice Ian Donald, who was the lone opposing voice in the 4-1 decision of B.C.’s highest court.
The BCTF is appealing the decision to the Supreme Court.
“My sense is local teachers support that appeal,” Walker said, “and [they] understand why we have to take this to Canada’s highest court.”
Walker said morale is likely low among teachers in the corridor in the wake of the decision.
“Teachers continue to do an excellent job, but they’re working in some very challenging situations,” he said, adding a recent survey of corridor teachers noted many areas in which they think their students are not getting the support they need.
Class size and composition sound like abstract phrases bandied about in negotiations, but they impact students and parents daily, according to Walker.
“Psycho-educational assessments are taking far too long, so students can sit on wait lists for many months before they are tested. Much-needed educational supports are not being provided in a timely manner,” he added.
Minister of Education Peter Fassbender said the ruling is an opportunity for adults to let bygones be bygones and collectively focus on students.
“Today is another step where we can lay down the gauntlet to each other and say we are going to focus on student outcomes, we are going to focus on the future of education, we are going to build on a system that is great and has the ability to move forward in a very fast-moving world,” Fassbender said during a news conference about the decision last Thursday.
