'Deeply disheartening': Sask. mom worried teachers' job action will disrupt provincial high school basketball championship

Saskatchewan’s provincial high school basketball championship known as Hoopla, could face disruptions next week due to ongoing teachers’ job action.

This could mean wasted efforts for students/athletes including the three children of Courtney Morin, a Saskatoon mom whose children are on teams attending the event.

Morin says she is ‘deeply’ concerned that her children’s beloved event is under ‘threat of cancellation’.

She’s worried that her kids— who are on their high school basketball and volleyball teams — won’t be able to participate in Hoopla which provides youths with ‘invaluable opportunities’ to showcase their talent and skills.

“It is deeply disheartening to see the well-being and aspirations of our children being sacrificed amid a labour dispute,” Courtney Morin told CTV News.

“While I understand the importance of addressing legitimate concerns within the education system, it is unacceptable for our children to bear the brunt of the fallout. They should not be pawns in a game of political brinkmanship.”

Morin’s two sons 17 and 18 play on their high school senior basketball team, her 14-year-old daughter also plays volleyball, and all three are involved in track.

The one-day job action is in addition to the previously announced countdown ahead of a province-wide withdrawal of extracurricular activities scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu)

STF job action looms over Hoopla

Hoopla is set to bring together over 6,000 players from March 21 – 23 in Moose Jaw.

As of Friday, there haven’t been any official announcements of any event cancellations, according to the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association’s (SHSAA) website.

On Thursday, Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) president Samantha Becotte said if the premier and minister of education don’t agree to binding arbitration, Hoopla and many more of this year’s activities will be cancelled.

“To put this in clear terms, if the government refuses binding arbitration, then Minister [Jeremy] Cockrill and Premier [Scott] Moe are choosing to cancel school trips, graduation planning, band festivals, Hoopla and so many more of this year’s activities that bring joy to our students and school communities,” she said.

However, Cockrill told reporters on Thursday that he wasn't interested in agreeing to a third-party referee.

“I call upon the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation to reconsider their proposed strike sanctions and explore alternative means of addressing their grievances without disrupting the lives of our children,” Morin said.

“I also urge the provincial government to take proactive steps to ensure that our youth are not unfairly impacted by labour disputes within the education sector,” she added.

STF, provincial government clash

In February, the STF declared a second impasse in negotiations with the province, the first one came in October 2023.

Frustrated by the lack of progress on key issues like class size and complexity, the STF announced more rotating job actions across the province.

These job actions involve teachers withdrawing from certain activities outside their regular teaching hours, including noon-hour supervision.

Bargaining between the two sides initially began in May of 2023.

Teachers have been without a contract since August 2023.

In the latest job action announced Friday, STF said that noon-hour supervision will be paused on March 18 and 19 at multiple school divisions.

The announcement was made less than 24 hours after the provincial government rejected a request to bring in a third party to help the two sides settle their ongoing contract dispute.

—With files from Rory MacLean and Drew Postey