EDMONTON – Two Alberta cabinet ministers say money was a key factor in the United Conservative government’s decision to use the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to override teachers’ rights and shut down a provincewide strike.
Infrastructure Minister Martin Long, in a letter to constituents, says the government could not risk allowing the labour dispute to go to arbitration and put the province at risk of paying out hundreds of millions of dollars.
Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides, asked by reporters about Long’s letter and potential costs, says elected leaders, and not third parties, need final say on decisions with significant policy and financial implications.
Premier Danielle Smith’s government used the notwithstanding clause to protect from legal challenge a bill it passed in late October to end a three-week strike by teachers across the province.
At the time, Smith tied the decision to use the clause to the health of students, saying the mental, social and educational well-being of kids in the classroom was threatened by the lengthy walkout.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2025.
