Court fines B.C. government $2M, restores teachers rights to bargain class size

VANCOUVER – A court has fined the British Columbia government $2 million dollars, while restoring working conditions to public school teachers in a searing judgment against the government.

It’s the second time the court has struck down provincial legislation around class size and composition, saying it interfered with the union’s freedom of association.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Susan Griffin ruled the government didn’t negotiate in good faith with the union after a court decision struck down the original legislation in 2011.

In a ruling released today, Griffin said the government’s strategy was to provoke a strike by the union, giving the government support for imposing legislation on the B.C. Teachers Federation.

The judge says today’s decision means the deleted terms in the teachers’ collective agreement, such as class size, have been retroactively restored and can also be the subject of future bargaining.

Griffin said it was appropriate to award damages of $2 million against the government in relation to its unlawful actions in extending the unconstitutional prohibitions.