Alberta Teachers' Association denounces anti-mandate protests at schools
'Schools are not places where protests should be happening': ATA president
After several anti-public-health-restriction protests and walkouts at schools across the province last week, the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) said it wants the province to do more to protect students and staff.
In some cases, protesters got inside schools, yelling, banging on lockers and causing disruptions that forced school lockdowns, according to a news release from the ATA.
Education Minister Adriana LaGrange tweeted a thread Saturday evening addressing the protests, and said that she would "encourage those who have chosen to disrupt the learning environment at any Alberta school to cease immediately."
While all Canadians have a right to protest and express themselves, protests must be peaceful and within the confines of the law.<br>Schools are not an appropriate place to protest public health measures, as this only serves to disrupt the education of Alberta students...
—@AdrianaLaGrangeATA president Jason Schilling said in an interview Sunday that he would still like Premier Jason Kenney to address the issue, but said he was pleased that LaGrange tweeted.
"I think the premier has a role in this as well, and I'd like to see him make some statements this week about this behaviour not being acceptable," Schilling said.
"Schools are not places where protests should be happening. People who work in those buildings don't have control over who creates the mask or the vaccine mandates."
Schilling said he wanted the province to provide supports to schools to better mitigate these events, though he did not specifically request anything.
More protests are expected this week, including a walkout in the Chinook's Edge School Division in Innisfail Monday morning.
With files from Alicia Asquith