51,000 teachers in Canada’s Alberta province go on strike

TRENTON, Canada

The largest teacher strike in the history of Canada’s Alberta province forced the cancellation of classes Monday.

With 51,000 teachers on the picket line, more than 730,000 students from kindergarten to Grade 12 are out of the classrooms in about 2,000 schools.

The tough tone of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) could signal the teachers and the province have a rough road ahead before a settlement is reached.

“This strike goes beyond pay,” a news release from the ATA stated. “This is about the public education in Alberta.”

According to ATA President Jason Schilling, the province has failed to provide an environment for teachers to instruct and students to learn.

“We’ve juggled overcrowded classrooms, added workload and government policies that were made without listening to the professionals who do this work every day,” Schilling said in the news release.

The Alberta government has said that it will offer $30 per day to help parents faced with suddenly needing help to care for their children.

The province has also posted lessons online and offered free admission for students 18 and younger to cultural sites, including the Royal Alberta Museum and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.

"While I am disappointed by the ATA's decision to strike, we remain focused on what matters most: our kids and their education," Alberta Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said in a news release Friday.

The teachers overwhelmingly voted down an offer of a 12% pay raise over four years by the province, then the government added a promise to hire 3,000 more teachers and 1,500 more educational assistants, the CBC reported.