The Alberta government is ordering thousands of striking teachers back to work and imposing a four-year collective contract via new legislation backed by the use of the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to shield it from legal challenges.

Finance Minister Nate Horner introduced Bill 2, the Back to School Act, in the legislature early Monday evening.

It seeks to end the strike taken by more than 51,000 teachers who have been off the job since Oct. 6 in a dispute over wages, resources, as well as classroom size and complexities.

The government has outlined several procedural mechanisms it plans to use to ensure the bill is passed promptly, with Premier Danielle Smith stating she expects students and teachers to return to classrooms on Wednesday.

“Our intention is to pass this legislation

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