Classes suspended in Alberta as provincewide teachers strike set to begin today

Some 51,000 members of the Alberta Teachers Association are poised to begin a strike today. The labour action, if it goes ahead, will impact more than 700,000 students across 2,500 public, separate and francophone schools.

Most school boards _ including those in Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray and Lethbridge _ have sent notices telling families that barring an 11th-hour deal, classes would be paused beginning Monday. Both sides appeared far apart late last week but the union said Friday they had resumed ``exploratory conversations.''

Teachers rejected the government's latest offer late last month, which included a 12 per cent pay raise over four years, a government promise to hire 3,000 more teachers to address class sizes and money to cover the cost of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Alberta Teachers Association president Jason Schilling said last week the hiring figure in that offer is a drop in the bucket compared to what's needed, noting the province needs to hire at least 5,000 more instructors to align with student-teacher ratios.