Government’s actions don’t match its words
By Letter to the Editor on March 6, 2020.
Soon the UCP government will expect teachers to bargain in good faith for a contract to insure quality learning conditions in our public schools. This will be challenging because while the government has said that it values the work of teachers, government actions tell a different story. The previous provincial government and teachers worked on a new curriculum for elementary schools. But the UCP government insulted the Alberta Teachers’ Association by dismissing their work and setting up a new curriculum committee that did not have any members who are currently teaching in Alberta. In Bill 22 the government took control of the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund (ATRF) without consulting teachers and rolled it into AIMCO, a fund that has a record of lower growth than the ATRF. I think that teachers are correct in being skeptical about the intentions of the government. If the UCP government values the work of teachers, let their actions demonstrate this at the bargaining table. Jane Bahnmiller Medicine Hat 6-5
