The Golden Hills School Division Board of Trustees is expressing its displeasure with Bill 8.
    On November 26, the government introduced the Public Education Collective Bargaining Act. This is a two-table model for future collective agreements. It introduced a new body called the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association, which puts the Alberta Government and school boards at the table in negotiations with the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
    This new model will allow school boards, the government, and the ATA to negotiate at a provincial table on issues that are relevant to all school boards,” said David Eggen, Minister of Education.
    “It also retains school boards’ autonomy to address local conditions that affect their local teachers. This system puts all the affected parties, including government, at the bargaining table in a transparent way.”
  Golden Hills Board Chair David Price has penned a letter to the Minister of Education expressing the board’s concerns.
    “The biggest thing we are concerned about is we are pretty proud of the education team we have in place and the ability we have to work corroboratively with them. The way the bill is written it looks to us that all the significant decision making around how that team performs is, and the terms under which they work are going to be centrally decided, not locally decided,” said Price. “That is a big issue for everybody who works in education in Golden Hills. It is such a good team environment and everyone has the student first on their minds.”
    One of his major concerns is that there has not been enough time to consult with the stakeholders.
    “We believe that, as locally elected school boards democratically chosen to represent our students, their families and our constituents, we should be given more than a few days to properly review the proposed legislation and to provide you with our recommendations on Bill 8 prior to it being passed into law,” he states in his letter.
    “We certainly recognize that there is a need for school boards to act quickly, and we will undertake to do that, however, you will understand that attempting to do this hastily, before the close of this legislative sitting, will be a disservice to our students and severely compromise our ability to serve our electorate.”
    He is not alone in his concerns. The letter was co-signed by Sheri Wright, acting chair of St. Albert Public Schools.  Joy Bowen-Eyre, chair of the Calgary Board of Education Trustees penned a letter supporting Golden Hills’ position.
    “We would appreciate if you would add our name to the list of school boards that is requesting that the Minister ensure that Bill 8 is not passed prior to consulting with school boards,” she stated.
    The Alberta Teachers’ Association is supportive of the change, and notes its association has pushed for bi-level bargaining since 2002.
    “Today, the government has committed to taking an active role in bargaining—it is vitally important that the funder be at the table.  The Association will work with government and school boards to create an effective bargaining structure that will meet the needs of teachers, students and the public,” states ATA President Mark Ramsankar.

    Farmers and ranchers are strong in their resolve to send Bill 6 back to the drawing board.
    The Legislature was a whirl of activity this week, inside and outside. On Thursday, the biggest rally of farm and ranch families took up residence on the front steps of the Legislature Building standing up for their farms.
    The drama this week also took place inside as opposition parties hammered the sitting government during question period, while the Premier stated the government’s intention is to pass the bill before the end of the session.
     A release contradicting some of the literature that came with the original Bill, promised amendments to deal with a couple of the contentious issues.
    These amendment proposes that WCB coverage would be required only for paid employees, with an option for farmers to extend coverage to unpaid workers like family members, neighbours and friends. They also propose that Occupational Health and Safety standards apply when a farm employs one or more paid employees at any time of the year.   
    Last week Shandele Battle of Delia began an online petition on Change.org and has nearly 25,000 signatures. She also took to the street with her family to collect signatures on a hard copy petition, planned to be presented to the Legislature.
    “They wanted the signatures up there by Monday to present, but it doesn’t sound like she (Premier Rachel Notley) is listening to them and is pushing it through regardless with what we think or say,” she said.
    “They are pressing forward, they say they will have consultation throughout the province, but the problem is the consults are going to be after the bill is put through. Then what do we do? They will be able to do whatever they want. This is what makes farmers mad.”
    She has read the amendments, but is unsure if they will make any difference.
    “We are to the point we don’t trust her. When you try to sneak the bill through without people being notified, if it wasn’t such a big deal, why weren’t we notified?” she asked.  
    In a press release, the Wildrose opposition expressed they sense the government is wavering, citing a comment attributed to Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier, apologizing for the handling of the Bill, and says the process had been an “odd way of doing things.”
    “The Minister’s comments were clear. The NDP is no longer confident in Bill 6. We need to show them now that we’re not backing down,” said Shadow critic and Drumheller-Stettler MLA Rick Strankman.