Lethbridge high school students hold walkout demonstration to protest teachers being legislated back to work

Students were back in class Wednesday, after the province's back-to-work order for teachers, but some are still showing their support for the strike.

Students were back in the classroom Wednesday after the province ordered teachers back to work, and they weren’t all happy about it.

Some were upset about the province’s use of the notwithstanding clause to get classes started again.

About 50 students at Lethbridge Collegiate Institute left their classes early Wednesday morning in a walk-out.

“I was feeling extremely anxious about doing this. Not sure how many people would show up or anything. And it makes me really happy that a lot of people are here,” said organizer Abigael Fortier, a Grade 11 student.

The Lethbridge Collegiate event was one of many walkouts happening both locally and across the province.

The message was simple: the students stand with teachers.

“Even though it’s the students who are protesting, we’re protesting on behalf of the teachers,” said Grade 11 student Mairi Webb.

Most have taken issue with the province using the notwithstanding clause.

They see it as an attack on workers’ rights and public education.

“The UCP has done something incredibly stupid, forcing us back to school, using the notwithstanding clause and essentially infringing on our rights,” said LCI student Sam Olson.

The Lethbridge School Division says it’s aware of the walkouts.

Classes proceeded as normal, but students weren’t stopped from walking out.

In a statement, the division said, “student learning continued as scheduled throughout the day, and while the division expects students to attend classes, unless they are excused by a parent/guardian/caregiver, we do not prevent students from leaving class to participate in these types of events.”

A more co-ordinated provincewide walkout is planned for Thursday.

It’s unclear if walkouts will continue into next week.

One expert believes the scale of these demonstrations shows the use of the notwithstanding clause was a step too far by the province.

“The bringing in the notwithstanding clause, first time as I understand in Alberta, and particularly really to override basic collective rights of organization, is really a bridge too far, way too far for most unions,” said political scientist Trevor Harrison.

CTV News reached out to the Holy Spirit School Division, which declined to comment.