Premier Christy Clark and her senior staff were involved in a plan to provoke a full-scale strike by B.C.’s teachers in 2012, the provincial New Democrats charged Wednesday.
Court transcripts obtained by the NDP and read at the legislature show the government’s chief negotiator in 2011-12, Paul Straszak, briefed the premier’s deputy minister, John Dyble, on a strategy that included provoking a full strike by teachers in order to drum up public sympathy for possible back-to-work legislation.
“The transcript shows the government was deliberately trying to provoke a strike,” NDP leader Adrian Dix told reporters.
Straszak admitted in court that he briefed Dyble on the proposal, which shows “the premier was directly involved in this,” said Dix.
The sworn testimony from a top government official appears to contradict both Clark and Education Minister Peter Fassbender, who have repeatedly said the government was not trying to goad the union into a strike.
[More]