The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) says the provincial government’s decision to use the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to force striking teachers back to work marks a dangerous turning point for democracy and worker rights.

Gil McGowan, president of the AFL, told reporters on Monday that Premier Danielle Smith’s government “had options” but instead chose what he called the “nuclear” one.

“They chose confrontation and escalation over compromise and negotiation,” McGowan said. “And in the process … they’ve transformed this dispute between teachers and the government to a confrontation between government and the broader labour movement.

“We said if this government was going to take the unprecedented action of stripping teachers of their constitutionally-protected right to strike and bargain collectively, then we would have no choice but to respond to that unprecedented action with an unprecedented response.”

The Alberta government passed Bill 2 — the Back to School Act — in the early hours of Tuesday morning, imposing a collective agreement. It also used the notwithstanding clause to shield the bill from court challenges. The bill imposes fines of up to $500 per day on individuals and $500,000 on the Alberta Teachers’ Association if they defy the back-to-work order.

WATCH | Alberta orders teachers back to work:

Alberta orders teachers back to work

The Alberta government will invoke the notwithstanding clause to force the province’s teachers back to work after a three-week strike.

Teachers have been on strike since Oct. 6.

McGowan said the AFL, which is an umbrella group consisting of 24 unions in the public and private sector representing 175,000 workers, has joined with other unions under the Common Front coalition. Altogether, it represents nearly 400,000 workers, McGowan said.

All unions in the province had emergency meetings on Friday and Monday to tentatively agree on a plan should the province decide to use the notwithstanding clause, McGowan said. That plan was due to be finalized over the lunch hour on Tuesday, he added.

“Make no mistake, this is a moment where not only worker rights are at risk in this country, but the very foundations of our democracy,” he said.

“As the labour movement in this province, our leaders have made a commitment to rise to that challenge, defend the teachers and their rights, defend worker rights more broadly, and to defend our democracy. We have no choice.”

He stopped short of confirming whether that response would include a provincewide strike, but said, “it’s one of the things that’s actively under consideration.”

‘Undeniable moral imperative’

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides defended the legislation in debate, saying his main concern was to get students back into the classroom as quickly as possible.

“The decisions that are being made tonight are decisions that are not taken lightly,” Nicolaides told the house.

“I firmly believe that the decision we are making this evening is deeply rooted in the undeniable moral imperative to prioritize the well-being and future of every student in this province.”

Finance Minister Nate Horner said Monday that using the notwithstanding clause would ensure that when classrooms open, “they stay open.”

For McGowan, the government’s actions represent something much larger than a contract dispute.

“Basically what they’ve done is said that our democratic rights that are guaranteed in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms — like the freedom of speech, freedom of association — they’re saying that those rights are optional,” he said. “And when rights become optional, they cease to be rights.”

Labour movement sees move as ‘existential threat’

Jason Foster, a professor of human resources and labour relations at Athabasca University, said he wasn’t surprised to hear that the labour movement was considering a significant response to the use of the notwithstanding clause.

“They consider the right to strike and the right to free collective bargaining to be fundamental rights. When you think about it, they underpin unions in the country — this ability to be able to negotiate a fair deal with your employer,” Foster said.

“And so, yeah, they see this as a fundamental existential threat.”

Foster noted that something akin to a general strike would nominally be illegal in the labour relations system.

“But throughout labour history, a lot of when labour stands up, it’s officially against the law,” he said. “But it still can be effective in making a political point or making political change.”

Union leaders are expected to reveal their plan of action at a press conference on Wednesday.