Supreme Court to hear B.C. teachers dispute

VANCOUVER — A bitter dispute between British Columbia teachers and the provincial government over the right to negotiate class size and composition will be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The top court announced Thursday it would hear the teachers’ appeal of a lower-court decision, which said provincial legislation that stripped some bargaining powers did not violate their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“We never give up,” said B.C. Teachers Federation president Jim Iker at a Vancouver news conference shortly after the decision. “By unconstitutionally stripping our collective agreement 14 years ago, this government did so much harm to our public education system.”

The province first imposed legislation that removed teachers’ ability to bargain class size and composition in 2002.

After a B.C. Supreme Court judge deemed the legislation unconstitutional in 2011, the province imposed new legislation the following year.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled that the legislation was unconstitutional in 2014, but the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned that decision last April.

Four of five appeal judges found the legislation was constitutional and the province negotiated with teachers in good faith. A long-term contract has been signed between teachers and the provincial government and Iker said relationships with the province have improved, but teachers still have a duty to resolve the issue.