A coalition of Alberta unions is set to announce steps to fight the use of the notwithstanding clause in Alberta.
On Wednesday, Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan will speak on behalf of the Alberta labour movement in response to Bill 2, the Back to School Act, and the invocation of the notwithstanding clause by the provincial government this week.
Global News will livestream that 1:30 p.m. MT presser at the top of this story.
The notwithstanding clause — or Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — gives provincial legislatures or Parliament the ability, through the passage of a law, to override certain portions of the Charter for up to five years.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the strike — the largest in Alberta history — was causing irreparable harm and the government had no other choice.
The core dispute with teachers centred around their demands for tangible fixes to address overcrowded classrooms and faltering supports for students with special needs.
Smith’s government has promised to hire 3,000 more teachers and address class sizes and complexities with a panel.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
The passage of Bill 2 early Tuesday morning ended the three-week strike over wages and working conditions that left more than 740,000 students out of class.
The bill includes steep fines for non-compliance: up to $500 a day for individuals and up to $500,000 a day for the union.
Earlier this week, the AFL said if governments use the clause to solve labour disputes, unions have no bargaining power left.
Other Alberta unions have echoed the AFL’s stance. The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) said it stands in solidarity with the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
“The government’s decision is an ideological failure,” said AUPE president Sandra Azocar. “The government has failed our children, our teachers, and all Albertans.”
The AUPE is Western Canada’s largest union, representing more than 100,000 people who work in the province’s public sector.
“By revoking the teachers’ rights under the Charter, the Human Rights Act, and the Bill of Rights, this government has set a dangerous precedent.
“An injury to one is an injury to all.”
Unions across Canada have condemned the move, forcing more than 51,000 Alberta teachers back to work on Wednesday.
“The Alberta government’s actions are reprehensible, heavy-handed and undemocratic,” said Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) executive director David Robinson.
“The UCP government had other options to resolve the dispute, but instead chose to declare all-out war on the fundamental rights of Albertans and all Canadians.”
The CAUT represents over 75,000 academic staff at 130 universities and colleges across the country and said no government that purports to uphold the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms of its citizens would ever take away the right to free collective bargaining and the right to strike.
“CAUT joins with our colleagues in the Alberta Teachers’ Association and in the broader labour movement in condemning this reckless abuse of power.
“We stand ready to join and support whatever actions are needed to overturn this undemocratic and dangerous legislation.”
The AUPE said it’s keeping a close eye on the ATA situation, as its own members are also in a bargaining process with the province. AHS nursing care workers are conducting a strike vote from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3.
— More to come…
— With files from The Canadian Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.