The provincial government has announced they will appeal last week’s Supreme Court ruling in favour of the BCTF, the latest step in a long-time legal battle over the 2002 collective agreement.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender claimed at a press conference today announcing the appeal that it could cost one billion dollars to implement the terms of the ruling, which would retroactively restore class size and specialty teacher ratios to 2002 levels.
“In practical terms, the judgment is completely unaffordable for taxpayers. It would create huge disruptions in our schools and, most importantly, it will prevent districts from providing the right mix of supports that our students actually need,” said Fassbender in a statement.
The union’s president said the government’s decision to appeal the court ruling was disappointing but predictable.<
"I think it's about priorities," BCTF President Jim Iker said in Vancouver.
"It's about determining what is important. Our students are important.''
Iker did not sound optimistic about future contract negotiations.<
"I want to believe that he wants to come to the table and negotiate in good faith, but he's also part of a government that has
broken the law twice."
In her decision, Justice Susan Griffin ruled that the government’s decision to remove class size and school staffing levels from the collective agreement in 2002 was unconstitutional.
Griffith also ruled those regulations were "restored retroactively," which the government claimed in court could cost up to $500 million. BCTF President Jim Iker has said B.C.'s school system has lost 1,400 specialist teachers, 700 special-education teachers, more than 100 counsellors and 300 teacher-librarians in the last decade.
The ruling also forces the government to pay $2 million in damages to the BCTF.
– With files from The Canadian Press
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