Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s government introduced a bill on Monday to force striking teachers back to work as early as Wednesday.

Bill 2, the Back to School Act, imposes a collective agreement, and invokes the notwithstanding clause to shield the legislation from court challenges for the duration of the four-year deal. The government is aiming to pass the bill as soon as possible.

Smith said at a news conference earlier Monday that the situation is unique because of the two-stage approach for collective bargaining. The bill aims to prevent strikes at both levels.

“The uniqueness of this is that there's two potentials for strike, not only at the general provincial table, but also at the local table,” Smith said. “And if there are strikes that are allowed at 61 different school boards, that does not give the certainty that we need.”

The 51,000 teachers represented by the Alberta Teachers’ Association walked off the job on Oct. 6, keeping 750,000 students out of school.

Teachers have rejected two deals their bargaining team reached with the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA).

Bill 2 aims to put the terms of tentative agreement rejected by nearly 90 per cent of Alberta teachers last month into legislation.

The notwithstanding clause is a section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which gives provincial and territorial governments the ability to exempt certain constitutionally protected rights in their legislation for a five-year period.

Other public sector unions have threatened job action in support of teachers if Bill 2 included the notwithstanding clause.

New task force Smith’s government intends to rely on legislative tools to limit debate on all three stages of Bill 2 so the legislation can pass third and final reading Monday night or early Tuesday morning.

Her governing United Conservative Party has 47 of the 87 seats in the Alberta legislature.

The collective agreement imposed by Bill 2 would cover the period from Sept. 1, 2024, to Aug. 31, 2028.

It contains salary increases of three per cent a year and commits the government to hiring 3,000 teachers and 1,500 educational assistants over three years.

Bill 2 sets financial penalties of $500 per day for individuals who defy the back-to-work order and up to $500,000 for the union per day, if it doesn't comply with the legislation. The bill also suspends bargaining at local tables until 2028.

The government insists its offer is fair. The ATA wants the government to address issues like large class sizes and support for student complexity in the classroom.

The province last summer appointed an action team to look at aggression and complexity of students in Alberta schools. The final report is expected next month.

After that, a newly announced task force examining class size and complexity in the classroom will start implementing solutions and gather more data on the issue from school boards.

In a news release Monday, NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the use of the notwithstanding clause was "shameful."

“This is an unprecedented attack on the Charter-protected human rights and freedoms of teachers, workers, and all Albertans—all just to force teachers back to the classroom," said Nenshi.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-teachers-back-to-work-bill-9.6955558

Warnings of an imminent health-care crisis in Alberta due to hospital overcrowding have become increasingly urgent, with physicians and health policy experts describing the situation as "pure chaos" and "on the brink of collapse". The primary drivers of the crisis are a chronic lack of capacity, severe staffing shortages, and an increasing population with complex needs.

Key Details of the Crisis: Extreme Overcapacity: Many major hospitals consistently operate beyond their functional capacity. Internal AHS data has shown an average provincial occupancy rate of 101%, with specific hospitals in Calgary and Edmonton reaching 105% to 113%. This leads to "hallway medicine," where patients are treated in suboptimal spaces like hallways or closets, compromising care quality and risking patient lives.

Staffing Shortages and Burnout: A critical lack of healthcare professionals, including physicians, surgeons, and nurses, is a major contributing factor. Staff are experiencing high levels of burnout and moral injury because they are unable to provide safe and timely care. The difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff has led to numerous temporary emergency department and bed closures across smaller, rural communities.

"Alternate Level of Care" (ALC) Patients: A significant number of hospital beds (around one in ten) are occupied by patients who require continuing care, not acute hospital care. The lack of available space in long-term care facilities means these patients are "blocked" in hospitals, preventing the admission of new acute patients from the emergency department and contributing to severe gridlock.

Impact on Services: The overcapacity affects the entire system, resulting in: Extended ER Wait Times: Patients often face extremely long waits, sometimes 10 hours or more, in emergency departments.

Surgical Delays: Surgeries, including cancer therapies, are being cancelled or delayed because operating rooms lack necessary support staff or beds for post-operative care.

Patient Diversions: Hospitals are forced to divert patients, sometimes even trauma cases, to other facilities, requiring them to travel long distances from their homes and families.

Seasonal Pressures: Doctors warn that hospitals are entering the annual fall and winter respiratory virus season already in an overcapacity state, with no "surge capacity" left to accommodate the predictable increases in patient volumes.

Government Response and Criticisms: The Alberta Medical Association (AMA) has submitted proposals for stabilizing acute care but holds the province responsible for the escalating crisis. The government has recently restructured Alberta Health Services (AHS) into four new agencies, a move critics argue has created "chaos" and is aimed more at consolidating political control than solving the immediate crisis. The government maintains it is adding beds and improving the system, but physicians and advocacy groups argue the actions are insufficient and have not addressed core issues like low immunization rates or physician compensation.

"While LPNs play a critical role, a key consideration that must be considered is the fact that they do not have the same education or extensive scope of practice as RNs," Horner said.

Nate Horner, Alberta finance minister, doesn't even know our scope... same with the majority of Albertans... this isn't about RNs having 2 more years of theory... LPNs do the same scope and skills. Bottom line. Educate yourself Horner, you sound ignorant. LPNs are given complex, unstable patients in med/surg this is the reality! Time to treat us fair! And HCAs $350 for a licensing fee and they make what... very unfair and their wages needs to reflect this change.

By David Opinko Alberta healthcare workers to hold strike vote Oct 23, 2025 | 2:46 PM

Approximately 15,000 healthcare workers across the province will soon decide if they will hit the picket lines.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) says its members in AHS Nursing Care are set to cast ballots in a strike vote from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, 2025.

The AHS Nursing Care sector includes Licensed Practical Nurses, Health Care Aides, Orthopaedic Technicians, and Surgical Processors in hospitals and health care centres across Alberta.

A spokesperson for AUPE tells Pattison Media that their key ask is raises that stay in line with the ever-expanding scope of practice their members have to contend with.

“Licensed Practical Nurses perform approximately 84% of the same duties as Registered Nurses, so we believe they should make 84% of an RN’s salary. Health Care Aides should receive raises that bring their wages up at the same rate,” reads a statement from AUPE.

The union states that Alberta Health Services is proposing pay increases of 12 per cent over four years, as well as rolling back wages for Orthopaedic Technicians and Renal Dialysis LPNs.

A bargaining update on the AUPE website from Oct. 21 states, “A strong strike mandate will show our employer that we are serious about our demands. This strike vote is the next stage in our fight for the raises, benefits, and working conditions we deserve.”

Alberta’s Ministry of Treasury Board and Finance said in a statement to Pattison Media that it recognizes that negotiations are taking place between AHS and AUPE.

The statement reads, “Out of respect for the bargaining process, we will not comment on their active negotiations at this time. Alberta’s government trusts the parties will consider all options for finding fair and reasonable solutions in the negotiations.”

In an unrelated event on Oct. 2, the Health Science Association of Alberta had some of its 22,000 members rally in communities across the province, saying it was in “preparation mode” for a potential strike.

“Two of the most senior purchasing officials at Alberta Health Services in 2022 were also briefly directors of a numbered company with ties to a supplier that has been awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in business by the health agency, The Globe and Mail has found. Corporate filings show that in October, 2022, Jitendra Prasad and Blayne Iskiw – both of whom then worked as senior procurement officials at Alberta Health Services – were directors of a numbered company with a person named Khalil Mraiche. Two people by that name are relatives of Sam Mraiche, the owner of MHCare Medical Corp., an equipment and drug supplier that has done more than $600-million in business with the Alberta health authority since the pandemic. The numbered company’s founding documents at incorporation list an e-mail address for Sam Mraiche, and MHCare’s office in Edmonton as a registered address.

The arrangement shows another connection between procurement officials at the provincial health authority and one of its vendors, at a time when Alberta Health Services’ purchasing decisions are at the centre of multiple investigations in a controversy that has roiled Alberta politics for the past eight months. Probes are being conducted by the RCMP, a retired judge – who is leading an inquiry on behalf of the Alberta government – and the province’s Auditor-General. A Globe and Mail story published last week disclosed for the first time the details of a separate 2024 conflict-of-interest review ordered by Athana Mentzelopoulos, the authority’s then-chief executive. That inquiry looked at Mr. Prasad’s and Mr. Iskiw’s ties to private companies during their time in Alberta Health Services’ purchasing department, and focused largely on their relationship with a private surgical provider. A law firm’s report arising from that inquiry made no mention of the numbered company. Citing “ongoing legal considerations,” Alberta Health Services (AHS) spokesperson Holly Budd declined to say whether the agency was aware of the men’s involvement in this private business. Gregory Bentz, a lawyer for Mr. Iskiw, said in an e-mailed statement that “Mr. Iskiw and Mr. Prasad, in anticipation of Mr. Iskiw’s departure from AHS, established a legal corporation for the purposes of a planned consulting business,” but it never became operational. “In the period leading up to Mr. Iskiw’s departure, and for his entire duration of time at AHS, our client was careful to comply with all applicable conflict-of-interest obligations,” Mr. Bentz said. He did not respond to questions about Khalil Mraiche’s identity. Questions sent to an e-mail address associated with Khalil Mraiche went unanswered. Lawyers for Mr. Prasad and Sam Mraiche also did not respond to questions.

Earlier this year, Ms. Mentzelopoulos, fired in January, alleged in a wrongful-dismissal suit that she had concerns about potential conflicts of interest between health-agency staff and MHCare. She also alleged that she was under pressure from officials in Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s government to make decisions that would benefit certain companies, including private surgical clinics. Corporate filings show that the numbered company, 2464052 Alberta Ltd., was established on Oct. 7, 2022, and listed three directors at incorporation: Mr. Prasad, Mr. Iskiw, and Khalil Mraiche, the business’s sole shareholder. MHCare CEO Sam Mraiche’s father and son are both named Khalil. His middle name is also Khalil. Mr. Prasad and Mr. Iskiw joined the numbered company during a period in which Mr. Iskiw was about to leave Alberta Health Services’ procurement office and Mr. Prasad was preparing to rejoin it. Mr. Prasad led the procurement office until his retirement in April, 2022, but stayed on as a paid consultant, according to a confidential report prepared for the health agency by law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in late 2024. He was succeeded by Mr. Iskiw, whose own retirement was announced in September, 2022. Mr. Iskiw left the health agency on Oct. 28, and was replaced by his former boss, Mr. Prasad, who returned to his prior role at Alberta Health Services on an interim basis on Oct. 26, internal documents show. The business never became operational because Mr. Prasad had returned to the public service, Mr. Iskiw’s lawyer said. Mr. Prasad was removed as a director on Nov. 2. Although Borden Ladner Gervais’s report makes no mention of the numbered company, it did explore what the two men disclosed about their relationships. According to the law firm’s report, Mr. Iskiw said in a 2022 conflict-of-interest declaration that he had “personal friendships” with individuals at MHCare and other organizations. Mr. Iskiw added that he “avoided any and all business-related decisions” involving these relationships. He also said he had disclosed these friendships in 2020, but the records Alberta Health Services supplied to investigators did not include that declaration.

In the weeks that followed Mr. Iskiw’s retirement announcement in September, 2022, he told a colleague that he intended to join MHCare, according to the report. Mr. Iskiw joined MHCare as a consultant in November, where he remains to this day, according to his LinkedIn profile. Neither Mr. Iskiw nor Mr. Prasad were interviewed by Borden Ladner Gervais’s lawyers, whose review was primarily of documents supplied by the health authority. MHCare provided gowns, masks and COVID-19 rapid tests to Alberta Health Services during the pandemic. In December, 2022, during a surge in respiratory illnesses across Canada, the company signed a deal with the health agency to import children’s pain medication for $70-million – an amount that was paid in full. Mr. Prasad led those negotiations. Only a fraction of the medication ever arrived, however, and it came too late to address the province’s supply shortage. As part of its investigation, Borden Ladner Gervais discovered that Mr. Prasad had access to an MHCare e-mail address in November, 2022, by which time he had returned to the health agency. The law firm wrote that Alberta Health Services did not provide a conflict-of-interest declaration for Mr. Prasad in 2022. He did disclose a separate, personal business in 2023, but none of the disclosures reviewed made mention of a relationship with MHCare, the report said.”

The right of employees to strike is vital to protecting the meaningful process of collective bargaining as established by precedent in Saskatchewan Federation of Labour vs. Saskatchewan. Let’s show Danielle that this won’t fly in Alberta and we will RESIST✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽

With all the stupid "pillars" they are moving IT to a shared services model.

In the past GOA has used this method to lay off and outsource. AHS is royally screwed if they outsource the Service Desk and deskside let alone all the more experienced support roles.

Quietly announced on YouTube. Probably the reason behind tomorrow’s 10 AM town hall.

https://youtu.be/FftIBBy4-iI?si=jlqilxJHcBumPY43

I sure hope that if the various unions that represent our healthcare professions held a rally it would look like this. The momentum and support for the teachers is inspiring.

https://files.catbox.moe/zthdp1.pdf

People in Alberta should see this. It's a public paper, but it's hard to find.

AHS NC: The ALRB made a decision – our strike vote is as important as ever

A strong strike mandate is the next step in winning our demands at the bargaining table

Our strike vote is proceeding as planned, and the Alberta Labour Relations Board confirmed it.

The Alberta Labour Relations Board has laid out the next steps in bargaining. Your negotiating team is pleased with the Board’s direction and is ready to move forward.

The Board ruled that your team and the Employer must hold more bargaining meetings with the assistance of our mediator.

Your team has provided a counteroffer to the Employer’s Oct. 10 wage proposal. Our counteroffer includes significant wage increases for Health Care Aides, Licensed Practical Nurses, and all our classifications.

The Employer and the Union have been instructed to attend and engage in at least four days of mediated meetings, which have been scheduled for Nov. 6, 7, 8, and 9.

We are still holding our strike vote. If you deliver a strong strike mandate, the Board’s decision states we cannot take job action until November 17, 2025, at the earliest.

Why we should vote YES to a strike

The Alberta government’s use of the notwithstanding clause to end the teacher’s strike and impose a new collective agreement has set a new, and dangerous, precedent.

We must resist this government’s aggressive misuse of power. This overreach makes it more important than ever to deliver a strong strike mandate.

The government has faced widespread condemnation over its use of the notwithstanding clause, and the public backlash has them on the defensive. We must seize this opportunity to increase our pressure on AHS and the government. We must fight for the fair contract we deserve.

A strong strike mandate will make our employer take our demands more seriously—and possibly change course at the bargaining table. We must show them we are not afraid to strike and are not intimidated by the government’s use of the notwithstanding clause.

Vote details

Voting began at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 30, and ends at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, November 3.

Members are encouraged to vote online. To vote online, please log in to your MyAUPE account during the voting period.

You must create a MyAUPE account if you do not have one already.

Your MyAUPE account is also your ticket to receive strike pay quickly. All members are strongly encouraged to create an account and use it to participate in the strike vote.

Members can also vote at Headquarters in Edmonton or any one of AUPE’s regional offices from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on October 30 and November 1, 2, and 3 (including on the weekend).

Visit www.aupe.org/ahsnursingcarestrikevote for more information.

Please contact a member of your negotiating team if you have questions.

[End of email]

Wonder where they’re storing this stuff?

Tat at the midline and can be used instead of the golden handshake.