REGINA - With the controversial Parents Bill of Rights Act legislation now law in Saskatchewan, the looming storm cloud on the horizon for Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill is potential teachers’ job action.
Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation is staging a sanctions vote this week, with that vote taking place Oct. 24 and 25. That coincides directly with the Speech from the Throne to launch the new session of the Legislature Oct. 25.
This does not mean the teachers are about to go on strike right away, but this vote could potentially result in other sanctions such as teachers possibly withdrawing from extracurriculars.
Last week, the STF’s Teachers Bargaining Committee had declared an impasse in their bargaining with the provincial government and announced they would be filing for conciliation.
STF President Samantha Becotte issued this statement last week on the negotiations: “The government is leaving us no other option. We’ve met nine times and there has been no significant movement on issues that are important to teachers, students and families,” said Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation President Samantha Becotte in a statement. “We always want to reach an agreement through negotiations. And we will return to the table, day or night, any time the government is prepared to actually negotiate. But as it stands today, this is pointless.”
The sanctions vote follows on the heels of the final passage of the Education (Parents’ Bill of Rights) Amendment Act, 2023 on Friday, which STF also spoke out against.
“Today’s passage of Bill 137 places every teacher in Saskatchewan in a difficult position: do they obey the law, thereby potentially placing a child in an extremely dangerous position or ignore it and leave themselves open to legal jeopardy,” said Becotte in a statement.
“It is yet another sign that this government isn’t serious about forging
cooperative and mutually beneficial relationships in the education sector.”
When asked Friday if the Parents Bill of Rights debate had worsened relations with the teachers’ union, Cockrill responded that it was his understanding STF had released a statement and he planned to read it.
As for bargaining, “certainly, I am concerned,” said Cockrill.
“There’s a sanction vote happening next week with Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation and their members. I am concerned, because we have seen over the last number of years how important it is for our children to be learning in the classroom, for our children to be participating in important extracurricular activities, whether that be sports or music or arts. That is vitally important that our teachers are able to do the good work that they do, continue to do that, and that our children have the opportunity to learn and to grow and develop in schools.
“I was clear earlier this week and I’ll say it again — our government is at the bargaining table. We’re ready to get a deal done with teachers. What we put forward, we believe, is a fair deal with teachers. It was disappointing with the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation leadership walking away from the bargaining table last week, but I’ve been clear with Ms. Becotte, we’ve been clear with the Teachers Federation. We are ready to bargain. We want to have a fair deal that provides certainty and predictability for our families for students for teachers in this province.”
On the Parents Bill of Rights Act, Cockrill spoke some more about how the legislation, and in particular the provision that requires parental consent for gender-based name changes for students under age 16.
“Our expectation with the legislation is that eventually we want children to have those conversations with their parents. That’s the intent of this policy and the legislation. But the legislation itself is not prescriptive on the time frame in that regard and again, we look forward to having discussions with the Saskatchewan School Boards Association and the 27 school divisions as we get into the implementation of this legislation. And I think those are conversations that we will be having with school divisions.”
Cockrill said the expectation will be that “school divisions, that school division’s staff in school will follow the Education Act… we continue to expect that school divisions and their staff will be following the legislation.”
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