Alberta Eyes Law to End Teachers’ Strike Amid Student Stress

As Alberta’s teachers’ strike enters its third week, the government is preparing back-to-work legislation that could send 51,000 teachers and 750,000 students back to class — but not necessarily back to normal.

Premier Danielle Smith has called the ongoing strike an “intolerable hardship” for families, signaling that her government could introduce legislation as early as next week to end the provincewide walkout.

For many teachers, the return would be bittersweet.

“I’m happy to return because the kids need me,” said Jennifer Black, an English teacher from Calgary. “But I’m unhappy because nothing has changed.”

‘Hopeless and Demoralized’

Black said many teachers will head back to classrooms feeling defeated, with no progress made on key bargaining issues such as classroom overcrowding and support for complex student needs.

“Teachers will go back demoralized and worried about their students,” she said. “The government has created this feeling of helplessness and hopelessness.”

She added that the emotional impact on students has been profound. Some have missed early university application deadlines due to the disruption, while others are uncertain whether they can catch up in time for the next round.

“We’ll have to be very serious, very focused — it’s going to be utilitarian,” Black said.

Personal Toll Beyond the Classroom

The disruption has also severed critical relationships between teachers and vulnerable students.

Black described one of her students, a 16-year-old who became homeless over the summer, as someone who relied heavily on her teachers for support.

“I bought her a rice cooker. We got her bus tickets to get to school,” she said. “I think about her every day. I have no idea how she’s been these last four weeks.”

Academic Setback Looms

Maren Aukerman, a professor of education at the University of Calgary, said the academic recovery won’t be immediate once schools reopen.

“It’ll be like starting the school year all over again,” she said. “Kids who’ve been out for weeks don’t return to exactly where they left off.”

Aukerman warned that returning teachers will face more pressure and burnout, conditions that can directly affect student learning outcomes.

“Research shows that stressed, unsupported teachers can’t help students as effectively — and academic achievement suffers,” she said.

Classroom Pressures Unresolved

The Alberta Teachers’ Association has been pushing for smaller class sizes and more classroom support staff, citing growing complexities in public education.

Aukerman said that unless these issues are addressed, even the resumption of classes won’t restore stability.

“Teachers who are under enormous stress can’t provide the kind of learning environment students need,” she said.

Rebuilding Trust and Stability

Experts urge both teachers and schools to focus on communication when classes resume.

“Kids are going to be confused about what happened,” Aukerman said. “Teachers need to make space to answer questions and ensure students don’t get lost in the frenzy to catch up.”

For educators like Jennifer Black, that may be easier said than done.

“We’ll be back,” she said. “But it’s hard to teach hope when you don’t feel it yourself.”

Smart Meter Refusals Hit 17,000 in New Brunswick

Resistance to N.B. Power’s smart meter rollout has grown sharply, with an estimated 17,000 households now refusing installation — a tenfold jump from what the utility reported to MLAs just a year ago.

But the power company insists the rise in refusals is not the reason it’s revising how it handles opt-outs — including a plan to triple the monthly fee for customers who stick with traditional meters.

“N.B. Power is not penalizing customers,” the utility said in a statement, defending the proposed changes as a fairness measure to cover the cost of manual readings.

New Fee for Non-Smart Meters

In documents filed with the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board (EUB), N.B. Power proposed charging $4.65 per month starting next April for customers who refuse smart meters.

That’s nearly three times higher than the $1.55 monthly fee the utility had forecast when the project was first approved in 2020.

The new plan would require six manual meter readings a year, instead of two, which the utility says will provide more accurate billing and “a better customer experience.”

“Boosting the actual reads on an annual basis will improve service,” said spokesperson Elizabeth Fraser, noting that it will also reduce large adjustments when estimated bills are off.

Still, many residents see the change as unfair.

Clarence Maillet, a Moncton homeowner who refused the installation, said he shouldn’t have to pay extra.

“I don’t agree with them charging at all,” he said. “It’s five bucks here, 10 bucks there — it adds up.”

Why Smart Meters?

N.B. Power is nearing completion of its 388,000-meter installation program, which aims to modernize the grid and enable real-time data collection.

The new meters can help pinpoint outages instantly, track individual energy use, and eventually support time-of-day pricing models that offer cheaper electricity during off-peak hours.

But critics have raised concerns about privacy, health effects, and data accuracy, fueling public hesitation.

Refusal Rate Soars

When the rollout began, N.B. Power President Lori Clark told legislators that fewer than 200 customers — just 0.45% of the first 40,000 installations — had refused.

Now, with 17,000 refusals and about 50,000 installations still pending, that rate has multiplied several times over.

Phil Landry, who oversees the smart meter program, said the utility expects opposition to soften once the rollout concludes.

“Once all the meters are installed, we’ll go back and do a campaign with those who opted out to ensure all of their questions are answered,” Landry said.

Other Provinces Take Different Approaches

In Quebec, Hydro-Québec allows customers without smart meters to self-report readings monthly, with only one annual verification visit by the utility — a model that helps keep costs lower.

By contrast, N.B. Power insists more frequent manual readings will improve accuracy, even if it costs more.

The company maintains that its proposal is about service quality, not penalties. But for thousands of New Brunswickers skeptical of smart meters, the new charges are unlikely to make the technology any easier to accept.

N.S. 911 Dispatchers Say Delays Happen ‘All Too Often’

The union representing 911 dispatchers in Nova Scotia says emergency response delays — like the 40-minute wait for paramedics in a February Halifax incident — are far from isolated cases.

Jeff Callaghan, national director of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, which represents Nova Scotia’s dispatchers, said short staffing, limited training, and an error-prone new dispatch system are making emergency response times dangerously slow.

“That process of people calling and then the ambulance not coming happens a lot,” Callaghan said. “It’s only because of the SIRT investigation that this one came to light. This happens very frequently.”

The February Incident

According to a Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) report, Halifax police responded to a call about a man in mental distress on Feb. 22 and requested an ambulance at 7:41 p.m.

Police believed paramedics were nearby and “staging” — waiting for clearance to enter — but no ambulance had actually been assigned.

An EHS supervisor was finally located around 8:20 p.m., and the ambulance arrived at 8:24 p.m., by which time the man was in cardiac arrest. He died at the scene.

The SIRT report described the delay as part of a broader communication gap between police and EHS dispatch systems, which operate separately at the municipal and provincial levels.

New Dispatch System Under Fire

Callaghan said a new dispatching system introduced in January 2025 has contributed to confusion.

“Staff were only trained for about half an hour before it went live,” he said.

Dispatchers also report that the system uses maps up to 10 years old, making it difficult to locate addresses in growing areas like Halifax.

“You can imagine how much growth there’s been in 10 years,” Callaghan said. “Sometimes staff can’t even find locations or ambulances arrive at the wrong address.”

Emergency Medical Care Inc. (EMC), which operates the system, said maps are updated monthly and that the software includes an AI component to analyze travel patterns and recommend resource deployment.

‘Calls Being Stacked’

Staff shortages at the 911 communications centre often mean calls get queued or “stacked”, with dispatchers prioritizing the most urgent cases.

“We’re told that what happened in February — calls being dropped or delayed — happens all the time,” Callaghan said.

Paramedics Also Facing Pressure

Kevin MacMullin, business manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 727, said ambulance dispatch delays are sometimes due to low staffing, high call volumes, or offloading delays at hospitals.

“The communications should be seamless between officers on scene and any dispatch centre,” MacMullin said. “Technology should make that possible.”

He added that the February case deserves a formal investigation.

Company Response

EMC said in a statement attributed to Gordon Peckham, vice-president of operations, that the company is reviewing SIRT’s findings and working to improve communication between agencies.

It also noted that since January, EMC has hired more than 120 new medical communications officers, paramedics, and emergency responders.

But for frontline dispatchers like Callaghan, the challenges remain urgent.

“We just don’t have enough trained people in chairs,” he said. “And when the system doesn’t work, it’s patients who pay the price.”