Phendrana Drifts

The Government of Alberta and the ATA are about to pitch a deal, and what a deal it is. And while ostensibly it is a pitch to teachers, it really is to all of us. Why should the Government of Alberta do this? Because it is in all our best interests, including the financial one. By giving the flexibility to end the liability before its planned 52 year old termination date, we will save interest. A lot of interest. Up to $45 billion - to put that in perspective, we spend some $33 billion a year as a provincial government. That alone makes it sound policy, but we are also all going to gain a lot from the recruitment of new teachers coupled with the predictability of five year collective bargaining agreements.

I missed question period today, so I have no idea what the Liberal reaction was to it. I looked on their website, no posted response - not that I was expecting one - but also found something curious, their search function isn't working on their website. They should look into fixing that. I looked around and around (tiring, since there was no search) and couldn't find a policy on the unfunded liability. Hmm... finally I found something on their education critic's site talking about the need to "address this problem." Well, even they should be happy I guess - the problem isn't just addressed, it has a long-term sustainable solution on the table, one that saves teachers and taxpayers money.

Labels: alberta politics, teachers

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