The doors are closed at hundreds of schools across Alberta as labour unrest between educators and the government continues.
Parents have been left with few options for assistance while schools are closed, but the provincial government is offering supports.
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The main support is $30 per day for each student in Alberta households under 12 years old who is enrolled in a public, separate or francophone school.
Parents can access these payments by registering via their verified Alberta.ca account when it opens on Oct. 14.
The United Conservative Party government says those payments are coming from “unused education grants left over from teacher salaries” and will not be considered taxable income for parents.
“These payments will be considered a benefit, similar to the previous inflation relief payments handed out by our government,” Alberta’s Ministry of the Treasury Board and Finance said in a statement to CTV News.
“While we know this may not cover every cost for every family, we are doing this to ensure families have something in the event of a strike. We are offering what we can according to the available funds left over from teachers walking off the job.”
In addition to an online education toolkit, the Alberta government also offered additional supports for parents over the weekend:
- free admission for children to Alberta’s heritage sites and museums;
- an increased child-care subsidy for the month of October;
- added flexibility for students to engage in distance education; and
- an extended deadline to apply for funding for homeschooling programs.
The UCP also says out-of-school care programs are welcome to extend hours to families that need full-time care.
Strike ‘a burden’ for parents
On the first day of the strike, CTV News spoke with parents who said they’ve taken some time off to help their children handle the change.
“I’m a nurse, so I have to take some time off work and kind of rearrange my shifts around and logistics are tough,” said parent Julie Harrison.
Harrison took her two kids to the library and also helped two other families by taking their kids.
“I appreciate that I can actually take some time off and take other kids out, but you know it’s definitely a burden for a lot of other parents,” said Harrison.
While dealing with the hassle of taking time off, she empathizes with the teachers.
“I kind of get where they are coming from, and it’s been long overdue,” she said.
Others are stepping up to help while off from school.
Fifteen-year-old Elena Stobart is receiving more calls to babysit.
“I’ve definitely been getting a lot of calls and texts, just parents asking me to help babysit because they don’t have child care,” said Stobart.
Province needs to make a deal: opposition
However, the Alberta NDP says it matters less what supports are being offered to Alberta parents during the strike than the government trying to reach a deal with the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA).
“The solution to the strike is not worksheets for students and $30 a day,” said Amanda Chapman, the Alberta NDP’s shadow minister for education, in a statement.
“What matters most is getting students back in classrooms learning with their teachers and ending this disruption for parents and families.
“This chaos is entirely the fault of the UCP government and was entirely preventable. It never had to come to this.”
The province said Sunday that the recent deal offered to teachers, which included a 12 to 17 per cent raise over four years but was voted down by 89.5 per cent of ATA members, was “fair.”
“We are willing to discuss other terms of the deal, but the government has a responsibility to the taxpayer to negotiate within reason,” the finance minister’s office said.
“We welcome the teachers’ union back to the table, but it is clear the union leadership has not best reflected the needs of their membership after agreeing to and putting forward two failed deals.”
The province said it will continue to provide monetary supports to help parents pay for “unexpected education expenses” for the duration of the strike.
Alberta parents will be eligible to retroactive payments to Oct. 6, which will be delivered via e-transfer beginning Oct. 30.
‘Strike camps’
Pinnovate DIY Art Camp has launched “strike camps” to help with child-care options.
“During the teachers’ strike, we do have full-day camps and occasional half-day camps,” said Pinnovate DIY Art Camp owner Kiki Lally.
A link for the camps can be found here.
The facility has staff to work extra hours, to help with the influx of students.
“We have two full weeks of straight camps that are already listed. We’re planning on adding a third week right now,” said Lally.
