Delegates attending the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s (ATA) annual general meeting in downtown Calgary illustrated the group’s solidarity in an impromptu vote.

Approximately 450 teachers from across Alberta, representing the 40,000 members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, unanimously declared they’ve lost confidence in Education Minister Jeff Johnson following the release of a controversial report.

Prior to the vote by ATA members, Johnson addressed the crowd of educators and their concerns with the findings of a report prepared by the minister’s task force on teaching excellence.

“I know there are pieces that are troubling you,” said Johnson. “I know there are pieces you see as troubling.”

ATA members have taken issue with several of the report’s suggestions including:

  • Evaluating teacher competency every five years
  • Increasing transparency during investigations into teacher misconduct
  • Allowing tradespeople, artists and other professionals who do not have an education degree, access to teaching certificates

“We aren’t jumping for implementation,” said Johnson. “We aren't going to implement anything without working with the ATA to work through things. We're using the report as a starting point to work through the issues that have been identified.”

Minister Johnson says the report is intended to strengthen the education system but many of the province’s educators believe the findings are an attack on their profession.

“This has done nothing more than erode our sense of public trust,” said ATA member Alexandra Jurisic. “We need the public’s trust in our profession, in who we are and how we perform. Has this done that? No. It has created question marks about the validity of our association, our ability to manage and conduct ourselves professionally, and I think that’s very unfortunate.”

Bruce McAllister, Wildrose Education Critic, is alarmed by the fact the government is attempting to ‘jam a fuzzy curriculum at (teachers) and telling them how to teach and what to teach’.

“All teachers really want is for the government to be as accountable and transparent as they are,” said McAllister. “They don’t expect the government to come in and command and control what teachers are doing in the classroom.”

For more information on the findings of the report visit Task Force for Teaching Excellence. The website includes a survey, discussion board and contact information. Alberta Education encourages Albertans to provide feedback.

With files from CTV's Ina Sidhu