As much as teachers’ unions like to claim their members are essential to society, the Alberta teachers strike that cancelled classes for 740,000 students on Monday shows that the exercise of raw political power matters more to them than educating students. How else do you explain their rejection of a deal that included a 12 per cent raise and the hiring of 3,000 more teachers?

What teachers walking off the job makes clear is that vastly more choice in education is needed right across the country in order to neuter the power that teachers’ unions hold.

A strike in a normal industry puts pressure on employers, but typically consumers can go elsewhere. When Air Canada cancelled flights because of a flight attendant work stoppage this summer, it was hugely disruptive, but flights could b

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