The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Past successes show alternatives to government’s current path of destruction


I had the privilege of serving as president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) from 2003 to 2009. I also served as a vice-president of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, and I attended three World Congress meetings of Education International with representation from 172 countries around the globe. I mention all of these because, over the years, I have had the opportunity to speak with many teacher leaders about their organizations and then compare those organizations to the ATA. Those comparisons lead me to conclude that the ATA is one of the best organized and most effective teacher organizations in the world.

What makes the ATA such an effective organization? Simply, it is a unified professional association. All teachers who work in public schools in Alberta must be members of the ATA. The ATA is also responsible for professional development and bargaining for teachers and, when necessary, the discipline of its members. All of these are outlined in the Teaching Profession Act (TPA) which was first passed in 1935. During my tenure as president, the ATA effectively fulfilled its responsibilities outlined in the TPA. 

The ATA’s effectiveness has come about through hard work between government and the ATA. Just as when buying a diamond, one looks for the four important “Cs,” so too in building a strong relationship with government, the ATA has used four important Cs: communication, consultation, co-operation and collaboration. 

It is important to note that these are all two-way characteristics that help both the Association and government. During my time as ATA president, I worked with four different ministers of education through regularly scheduled, face-to-face meetings, to discuss the issues of the day. This process built a positive working relationship between the government and the ATA that, by the end of January 2008, produced a five-year agreement that resulted in major fiscal savings for the government and labour peace with teachers for the term of the agreement. Four days after this agreement was achieved, then premier Ed Stelmach called a general election that resulted in a 72-seat majority government for the PCs.

Contrast that process with the current government, which doesn’t employ any of the four Cs with teachers, but rather guts their pension plan and moves the money from a highly effective management/investment organization to one that is less effective. This is success? Now we have a minister of education talking about unilaterally making amendments to the Teaching Profession Act that would make the Association a less effective organization than it is currently. All this without any consultation with the ATA. 

During my eight years as an MLA, I learned that the role of an MLA is to represent their constituents in the legislature. To do that, MLAs need to speak with their constituents regarding their concerns. 

True representative government is providing leadership for the people. It is not imposing unwarranted legislation on the people. One of the first ways to ensure that MLAs have a clear understanding of the needs of Albertans is by open, honest and clear communication with the people they represent. This government could learn from the successes of the Stelmach government and employ those strategies to build an even better education system and a much better relationship with the ATA, rather than continue on the destructive path it seems intent on following. ❚