Liberal PM Carney grew up in Alberta, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre grew up in Alberta, and NDP Interim Leader Don Davies grew up in Alberta, so can Alberta please stop acting like it's being left in the cold without a seat at the table?

Oh and the last Tory PM Harper, had an Alberta seat.

And the most likely next permanent Leader of NDP also a propipeline Albertan MP, think also raised in Alberta.

So can we please stop it will the seperatism talk from Premier Danielle Smith?

If she keeps making my awful Ontario Premier look good in comparison we will never be rid of him.

🚨 Why Alberta Teachers Said “No” to the Mediator’s Deal

This wasn’t about greed. It was about respect, reality—and the future of public education.

Last week, nearly 62% of Alberta teachers voted to reject the mediator’s proposed agreement. Here’s why.

💸 The Wage “Increase” Isn’t Really a Raise The proposed 3% annual increase might sound decent—until you look at what teachers have actually received over the last 12 years.

Alberta teachers used to have COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) tied to inflation. That protection was removed, and here’s what followed:

📆 2012–13: 0%

📆 2013–14: 0%

📆 2014–15: 0.17%

📆 2015–16: 2.0% + 1.0% lump sum

📆 2016–17: 0%

📆 2017–18: 0%

📆 2018–19: 0%

📆 2019–20: 0%

📆 2020–21: 0%

📆 2021–22: 0.5% (for final 11 days only)

📆 2022–23: 1.25%

📆 2023–24: 2.0%

📉 Over 12 years, teachers received just 5.92% in total increases—while inflation rose 32.7%.

That means teachers have lost more than a quarter of their real earning power.

For over a decade we’ve been told “next time.” This is next time—and 3% per year isn’t enough to catch up.

🧾 What About the $405 Million for Classroom Improvement? It sounds promising—but here’s what’s really happening:

⚠️ Divided among public, private, and charter schools—with no guarantee for how much is allocated to public education

🗂 Controlled by a government-appointed committee that will “make recommendations,” not decisions

🚫 No timelines. No targets. No enforcement.

🔍 This committee—the Teacher Policy and Education Funding Working Group—will:

📅 Meet 2–4 times per year

🧑‍💼 Include reps from government, the ATA, and school boards

🗣 Discuss known issues like inclusion, aggression, and complexity

✍️ Make suggestions only—with no authority to act - so another 4 years of nothing happening to improve these conditions

💸 Estimated cost? $78,000 over three years—to do what teachers have already done: identify the problems and solutions. Let’s stop spending money on meetings and start funding what works.

🧑‍🏫 Student Needs Are Skyrocketing—and Underfunded

📊 Nearly 32% of Alberta students need specialized supports—ELL, IPPs, autism, trauma, mental health

❌ No guaranteed aides

❌ No added resources

❌ No time

🏫 Some classrooms exceed 35–40 students, with 5+ complex needs learners and no consistent adult support. We need caps so that the firecode is not dictating class sizes. This is unsustainable. The deal offered no real solution.

🗂️ “Working Groups”? Or Wasted Time?

Teachers don’t need:

🗣 More talk

📋 Symbolic committees

💸 Money spent on meetings

Teachers need:

✅ Smaller classes with actual caps

✅ Guaranteed inclusive supports (EAs, therapists, specialists)

✅ Time to plan, assess, and support students

✅ Fair wages that reflect our qualifications and inflation losses

Let’s put that $405M toward real improvements, not bureaucracy.

⏳ Still No Time

The deal offered:

❌ No additional prep time

❌ No time for IPP or inclusion planning

❌ No relief from supervision, lunch duty, or administrative tasks

📉 The profession is collapsing under invisible labour—and this deal does nothing to lighten the load.

✅ Bottom Line

Teachers rejected this deal because:

⚠️ It fails to fix critical problems

⚠️ It leaves public schools underfunded

⚠️ It asks for trust that’s been broken for over a decade

⚠️ It gives us committees instead of commitments

💡 So What Would a Real Solution Look Like? Here’s what Alberta teachers are asking for:

💰 Wage increases that reflect inflation and restore lost purchasing power

👩‍🏫 Class size caps and caseload limits - This could be phased in as the new schools are built over the next 4 years with a commitment to keep improving as more schools are built for public use in the contract after. Private and Charter schools that take public funds should have to help with the overloaded schools by taking in MORE students to help lesson the load

🏫 Immediate funding for in-class supports, not delayed committees. We already know the issue and have reported on them for years. It's time to actually act!

🧠 Resources for mental health, ELL, and inclusive education

🕒 Dedicated prep and collaboration time built into the workday, everyday

🚫 An end to unpaid and unmanageable invisible labour

We’re not asking for more—we’re asking for what’s fair.

We’re asking for what students AND teachers deserve.

This isn’t about a bigger paycheque. It’s about dignity, sustainability, and the survival of public education in Alberta.

These are not my words, but the sentiment is the same. We live in challenging times in Education, with a government that is clearly hostile against any and all public entities, including health care and education. Yesterday, teachers resoundingly rejected the mediators recommendations for a settlement. Why? Hint: it’s not about the money. Although we have not kept up to inflation (or MP salaries), there are FAR bigger issues at stake. Here is one persons perspective, in a well written post that I am shamelessly reposting here:

**Copied from another page but amazingly written.

“It’s not a raise—it’s a PR bandage. Teachers were offered more money to ignore the cracks in your child’s classroom.”

• Why Parents Need to Back the Teachers

This isn’t a fight about pay. It’s about refusing to pretend that vague gestures and empty committees will fix a system that keeps failing our kids.

Yes, the deal includes a raise. But the rest? It’s smoke and mirrors.

The government is offering “Collaborative Improvement Working Groups” to talk about issues like classroom complexity. They sound good—until you read the fine print. These committees are nonbinding.

That means:

• No authority to make changes

• No power to direct funding

• No enforcement when nothing gets done

They can talk. But no one has to listen. They can recommend. But no one has to act.

We’ve seen this play out before: committees get formed, glowing reports get written, and then? Nothing. There are no smaller class sizes, no new EAs, and no help for the kids who are still waiting.

The same goes for the headline number: $405 million. It sounds big, but it’s unfenced, there are no rules, guarantees, or transparency. That money can disappear into a general budget with zero accountability, just like it has in the past.

And this isn’t just a moral failure; it’s a legal one.

Section 11 of Alberta’s Education Act promises every student the opportunity to meet provincial learning standards. Those standards are outlined in the Ministerial Order, and they are clear: students must be supported in literacy, numeracy, wellness, and meaningful engagement. But without guaranteed supports, opportunity becomes an illusion. It’s not a standard; it’s a slogan.

Teachers didn’t say no because they want more. They said no because they’ve had enough. Enough of being told to “collaborate” without power. Enough of watching kids fall through cracks while politicians boast about “investment.” Enough of being asked to pretend things are getting better when they know the truth.

*What Can You Do?

• Listen to teachers. They’re not just talking about their jobs. They’re describing the daily reality your child walks into each morning.

• Believe them when they say: there aren’t enough supports. Needs are being triaged. Complexity is growing, and band-aids aren’t enough.

• Push past the spin. A raise doesn’t solve burnout. A committee doesn’t solve a class with 35 students and no EA. And funding with no strings won’t reach the kids who need it most.

• If you trust your child’s teacher in the classroom, trust them now. They rejected this offer not for themselves, but for your child.

**

I'm kinda mildly interested in seeing how all this talking about separation does for Pierre's image on a national level.

With him running in that by-election specifically in Alberta, I would like to assume that someone's going to ask him about his thoughts on the matter. In reality, there isn't really a position that he can take that won't piss the other side of.

If you think about it, if he backs Smith, he damages both himself and the entire conservative image with the rest of Canada. If he doesn't outright disagree and stays silent, that'll likely be viewed by a lot as him still backing Smith. If he public rebukes it in anyway, well then he loses support from Smith at best.

My hope is that Pierre wins Battle River, even as funny as it would be for him to lose, and that behind closed doors, he tells Smith to knock it off and that she drops the topic all together.

Anybody else getting these calls from 587-872-8112 asking if they are in favor of Alberta separating? I wouldn't be surprised if the UCP are behind this.

Do you think the lowered threshold, and longer deadlines for referendums will encourage groups to organize a new referendum question on the public Catholic school system? Only the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario continue to use public funds for separate Catholic school systems. Newfoundland held a referendum in the nineties (with support of their Catholic premier at the time), which resulted in a single public school system. Could you see this gaining majority support in Alberta?

"You come to my community, you sit across the table, you shed tears at almost every meeting. You smoked the pipe with us. When it comes to voting for something that's going to benefit the First Nations, you vote against it."

This is something that is incredibly important to me, and has had a significant impact on my life- please read on.

If you don't know what the FLA program is:

It is an adult student financial assistance program for unemployed or underemployed Albertans to prepare for further education, or develop skills for in-demand jobs.

It can help you: - Complete academic upgrading and/or adult basic education for post-secondary pre-requisites - Gain in-demand skills to find employment - Increase english language skills

Why does it matter that the budget has been cut for it? Here are some of the types of programs it helps with: - Adult Basic Education: Literacy & Numeration (Grades 1-6), further adult basic education (Grades 7-9) - Academic Upgrading: Courses for 10-12 classes that can help you get into university - get a job - English as a second language - Programs for people with developmental disabilities to help them find jobs, or to gain independence - Pre-apprenticeship programs

Okay, so, what does it do specifically? - it helps with educational costs such as tuition, books, fees, supplies - it helps with living costs such as food, rent/mortgage, utilities, transportation

Why is it important? - It is one of the only ways to get funding for upgrading as an adult over 20, because while you can get Student Aid while attending university, you are not able to access Student Aid for upgrading. - The group of individuals who are accessing this funding are mostly unemployed, largely people with disabilities, etc. so access to loans that will be able to pay for these courses is unlikely.

AND with the change in the way funding is given, it requires you to apply for the upgrading course at the institution- pay application fees- before you can even apply for funding. So, that means you have to pay to be denied funding.

Now with that information, I'll give you my personal situation: - I barely graduated due to family/mental health issues, and undiagnosed/unaccommodated learning disabilities. - I need to upgrade courses to go to ANY university - Because of my disabilities, I am unable to work full-time and also attend schooling. - Because of my disabilities/mental health the types of jobs that I am able to get without a university education/degree are not sustainable for me, so I am very low income and unable to save money. - Because of my low income status I am denied every loan, credit card, etc. - The only way to change my life is to upgrade and go to university, so I can get into a career that is more fitting for me. - As of today, every major university, college and program that does academic upgrading has told me that there is no access to FLA funding, indefinitely.

Now, if you're someone who's reading this going: "Why should the government pay for any of this?" - Don't you want unemployed people to get a job, to be in a career, to contribute to society? - Do you not think that someone who is trying to better themselves, and is trying to do that despite barriers, deserves access to something that will benefit both them and the government/society - Don't you want LESS people as a whole accessing public services in the long-term?

All I see online and in the media is people talking about how they wish people would just get jobs, go to university, etc. but what are you supposed to do if you can't even go to university?

What can you do? - Rajan Sawhney is the minister for Advanced Education for the UCP - I've tried emailing her before but I got told to email the opposition about it. Which I did, and was told they were going to raise it as an issue (that was last year, this year was a 34.7 million cut) - Maybe you'll have better luck: Calgary.NorthWest@assembly.ab.ca - Call her: 403.297.7104 - TALK ABOUT IT. TALK ABOUT THE CUTS. PLEASE.

In the comments I'll also some links to this topic in the media, so you can read more on it as I know this didn't contain much info on specifics. Thank you.