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BC  

$2.6M in losing legal battle

The provincial government spent $2.6 million over 15 years in a losing legal battle fighting the British Columbia Teacher's Federation in court over cuts the province made in 2002.

The Supreme Court of Canada overturned a BC Court of Appeal decision in November, declaring the province had violated teacher's bargaining rights when they took language governing class size and composition out of their contracts in 2002 and passed a law denying teacher's the right to bargain those issues in the future.

About $1.7 million of the total was spent on internal staff lawyers while just over $900,000 was spent on external lawyers.

The BCTF says they will not release how much they spent on the legal battle until they have told their own members at their annual general meeting in March.

“What is important now is that we are at the table with the BCTF talking about how to ensure we are dealing with the complexities that came out of the court’s decision, and to ensure we come up with an agreement that offers the best path forward for students,” said Education Minister Mike Bernier in a statement.



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