The Alberta government will redirect money saved during a potential teachers’ strike to payments for parents with younger children in public, Catholic and francophone schools.
Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner announced Tuesday in Calgary that parents and guardians with children age 12 and younger can apply for $150 a week, should Alberta Teachers’ Association educators walk off the job on Oct. 6. The first payment will be made on Oct. 31.
The ATA announced Monday night that 89.5 per cent of voting members rejected a contract offer, setting the stage for a provincewide strike next week that could affect 700,000 students across Alberta.
On Tuesday, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides also announced the government has prepared a “tool kit” for parents and guardians to teach children, should classes be cancelled by a strike.
Nicolaides said the online resources cover core subjects like math, language arts, science and social studies and will include videos, worksheets and practice questions.
Premier Danielle Smith said at the same news conference the province intends to hire 1,500 more educational assistants for schools by 2028.
That commitment was one part of the offer teachers rejected, saying it wasn’t enough to address lagging pay and growing class size and complexity challenges.
More to come.
