Sask. teachers return to the picket lines
Members of the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF) hit the picket line on Thursday in the first of a series of one day strikes.
The job action involved 3,000 teachers’ association members and affected classes for roughly 35,000 students in communities across the province, including Moose Jaw, Prince Albert and North Battleford.
Jean-Marc Belliveau, president of the Prince Albert Teachers’ Association, says the STF is fighting for properly funded education.
“We’re doing this so the government starts listening, this is our third round and we just want what’s best for students and what’s best for schools,” Belliveau said.
The STF has threatened to engage in job action until the Saskatchewan government agrees to discuss classroom sizes and supports for students with complex needs at the bargaining table.
This is the third strike by Saskatchewan teachers in three weeks. More than 13,000 teachers walked off the job province-wide for one-day strikes on Jan. 16 and Jan. 22.
Tim Strom, a parent and teacher in Prince Albert, expressed his concern with the quality of education students are receiving because of larger class sizes.
“My daughter has 38 kids in her English class,” Strom said. “Teachers struggle everyday just to get everything done and try to make education the best for every kid it could be and in order to do that there needs to be more funding.”
In a statement to CTV News, the Ministry of Education says the government is actively working to address concerns around class size and complexity.
The statement said a fair deal for teachers must also be a fair deal for taxpayers, and argued Saskatchewan taxpayers already contribute the most per capita to education in the country.
The ministry has consistently maintained that decisions around class size should be left to the local school divisions, even following a December meeting with a third-party conciliator that ruled the issue could be bargainable under Saskatchewan legislation.
Belliveau told CTV News he does not believe the government is following the proper negotiation and bargaining process.
“Going forward I would like to see the government come back to the table,” Belliveau said.
The province and teachers have been at a standstill since October following initial bargaining talks in May of 2023.
-With files from Drew Postey and Josh Lynn
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
Conservatives kick off return to House with new call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign
Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives returned to the House of Commons on Tuesday with a renewed call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign, this time over 'very partisan' and 'inflammatory' language used to promote an upcoming event.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Loblaw boycott organizers say they plan to keep movement going past May
The organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores say they've decided to extend the boycott past May.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Winnipeg trial hears admitted serial killer searched web for serial killer definition
The trial of a Winnipeg man who has admitted to killing four women has heard he searched the internet to look up the definition of what it means to be a serial killer.