A Alberta senator has come out in support of a student walkout on Monday to "protest against the Alberta government's mishandling of education (ex., the book ban, transphobic rules for women in sports, and overall lack of funding)."This quote originates from an Instagram account organizing the protest, studentwalkoutsept22, with the post having over 300 likes. Kristopher Wells, a senator for Alberta is described as an"educator and a champion for the 2SLGBTQI+ community who has used research and advocacy to help advance diversity, equity, and human rights in Alberta and across the country."In Wells' own words under his X post, he writes, "Our student know what is right and just.".In another TikTok post announcing the walkout reasons, "Students of Alberta we need to take action.""The government keeps trying to blame teachers but as students we can't get the help we need in schools with 30+ students in our classes as well as our schools are underfunded.""Teachers are put in unfair work environments and instead of waiting around for things to get worse.""We need to take action and use our rights as students to walk out on Monday September 22 to get the things we need in school, please spread the word," it reads, getting over 1000 views..This comes after Alberta's Teachers Association (ATA) rejected the deal proposed by Alberta's government and the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) tabled a deal that included hiring 1,000 more teachers each year for three years at a total cost of $750 million.The proposal also offered a 12% salary increase over four years, plus additional boosts that would raise pay for 95% of members, with newer teachers seeing the largest gains to address recruitment and retention issues.The ATA then announced at the beginning of September of teh possibility of striking in October. "If the negotiation is not achieved through bargaining, we will commence strike action on Monday, October 6," said Jason Schilling, president of the ATA..“I am disappointed that the ATA is using the potential disruption of the school year as leverage in its pursuit of additional compensation. Announcing a strike commencing October 6 before the parties have resumed negotiations only serves to increase stress among Alberta’s students and families," stated Finance Minister Nate Horner after the announcement.“Alberta’s government is committed to finding a fair settlement that ensures as many resources as possible are directed to essential classroom supports,” he concluded.
