The evolution of professionalism - Centre for Policy Studies in ...

18, 2002, reported a current defi cit of $3.4 billion and projected a $4.4 billion defi cit
for the 2003 fi scal year, but promised to balance the budget by 2004-05, largely
through privatization and deregulation. Since that time, the Minister of Education,
Christy Clark, has implemented a number of sweeping reforms.
Guiding the whole process is the Budget Transparency and Accountability
Act (BTAA), which was amended in 2001 to provide a legislative framework
for a regular cycle of planning, reporting, and accountability. Under the BTAA,
the Ministry of Education and all other Ministries are responsible for producing
three-year service plans, previously called performance plans. The plans are
updated yearly and there will be annual service plan reports. The amended Budget
Transparency and Accountability Act took effect in the 2002-03 fi scal year.
Since May 2001, the educational system has faced a deluge of legislation.
Government policy and action can be divided into three main parts: labour relations,
fi nance and funding, and accountability. Four Bills (8, 18, 27, and 28) focus either
directly or indirectly on labour relations in the system. The target has clearly been
the BCTF’s union activities.
Bill 8, the Protection of Parent Volunteers Act (2001) was introduced as an
amendment to the School Act, and enshrined the rights of parents to volunteer in
schools and to be involved in their child’s school. The right to volunteer “cannot
be bargained away in any collective agreement”; however, parents cannot perform
services “that will result in the displacement of an employee” (Hansard, Vol.2. No.
10, comments by the Minister of Education, August 2, 2001). Bill 8 was contentious
because parents and other adults have always had the opportunity to volunteer in
schools. The questions arising were: why this should be enshrined in legislation,
and what did “displacement” mean? Both the Canadian Union of Public Employees
(CUPE) and the BCTF regarded the legislation as a means of undermining their
collective agreements. An example of where confl ict might arise concerns teacher
aides and special education teaching assistants.
Bill 18, the Skills Development and Labour Statutes Amendment Act (2001)
made education an essential service, a status it had not had since 1993. In the case
of disputes, the Labour Relations Board can mediate or if necessary, arbitrate the
dispute. A caveat is provided in Bill 18 so that the legislation does not take away
the right to strike by teachers or other employees.
Bill 27, the Education Services Collective Agreement Act (2001) imposed a
process for reaching a collective agreement between the BCTF and the BCPSEA,
as a result of an ongoing labour dispute between the Federation and the employers
that had reached an impasse. Teachers viewed Bill 27 as an aggressive means for
the Ministry to impose a formula for the benefi t of the employer and the Ministry.
Prior to this legislation, 18 school districts had been amalgamated for administrative
purposes into nine new units, but each of the 18 kept their teacher collective
agreements. Bill 27 imposed the amalgamation of these teacher (union) agreements
(e.g., Cranbrook and Fernie), which meant that some teachers lost salary because
the salary grids were different between the old districts.
Bill 28, the Public Education Flexibility and Choice Act (2002), gave school
districts the right to decide how they would staff their schools and give them
“management fl exibility” in the governance of their school districts. This bill also
20 Section 1: The West