theQuestion: Does the BC Court of Appeals ruling in favour of the provincial government over the BCTF vindicate Premier Christy Clark and the BC Liberals?*
Premier Christy Clark is more gracious than I could ever be. For years the premier has endured a sustained public assault on her character by spittle-spewing hatemongers — reaching a crescendo last year during the ill-conceived teachers strike.
So what did the premier do after the BC Court of Appeals delivered the BC Liberal government a decisive victory in its 13-year battle with the BC Teachers’ Federation over the stripping of class size and composition language from the collective agreement? Incredibly, she held out an olive branch to teachers.
Considering the poisonous personal attacks over this issue, I would have chosen a much different course of action — I would have whacked them over the head with it. What’s the dispute about? The BC NDP government gifted the teachers’ union considerable influence over determining the maximum number of students per classroom and the composition of classes to accommodate those with special needs.
When the BC Liberals came to power they asserted the government’s right as the employer to set these conditions. The BCTF twice took the government to court and both times Justice Susan Griffin ruled the government’s actions were unconstitutional, and also determined the province had bargained in bad faith by creating conditions to provoke a teachers strike. Justice Griffin ruled the province must restore the contract language and pay the BCTF $2 million in damages.
Instead of rolling over, the government chose to exercise its right to appeal and as a result, the Premier was vilified during the strike. A review of my social media accounts is quite telling. The premier was called a criminal, mafia thug, liar and sociopath. One teacher even wrote on Facebook that the premier was mentally and morally deficient.
I constantly responded that the government is only exercising a right that the BCTF would have if it lost in court — which the union now has. In last week’s 4 to 1 majority ruling, the BC Court of Appeals overturned Justice Griffin’s decisions and ruled the provincial government’s actions were constitutional — the BCTF must also pay back the $2 million in damages.
Even if the BCTF appeals and wins at the Supreme Court of Canada, the premier and the provincial government have been vindicated and the hate-filled name-calling must stop.