Alberta students walk out of class in support of teachers forced back to work

Thousands of students rallied at the Alberta legislature and Alberta Teachers’ Association building in Edmonton on Thursday, protesting the province’s decision to order striking teachers back to work.

Students streamed into the legislature plaza in front of the sandstone building, carrying signs and wearing red, a colour that has come to symbolize unity with educators.

Social media platforms shared among students are urging walkouts in schools across the province.

Students also rallied in other parts of the city.

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One of those students, Josh Plamondon, said the back-to-work order is terrible and believes educators should be given what they want.

Plamondon, who is in Grade 12, said he is dyslexic and dysgraphic, and while teachers try to help him the best they can, it’s difficult without legislated limits on class sizes.

“I’ve got classes of 40 students, which is not the way education should be done,” he said.

“It’s our obligation as students and as members of the populace to fight so that people’s rights aren’t trampled over.”

Earlier this week, Premier Danielle Smith’s government severely curtailed debate rules to pass through the house in just hours a bill ordering 51,000 teachers back to work.

Smith’s government used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to override teachers’ right to strike and shield the bill from legal challenge.

Smith has said the strike was causing students irreparable harm, while the Alberta Teachers’ Association believes the use of the notwithstanding clause is a gross violation of rights.

— More to come…