The Battle of Bill 12: It's on.

I had quite a few opportunities to go by the Legislature over the past three days and see if there was any action going on in the government's bullpen to resolve the teachers dispute. Unfortunately, what I saw was a total absence of anyone coming or going. Office windows were left with the lights on and the curtains open as if to say: "We'll let the BC Supreme Court handle it, thank you very much".

The Liberals should be disappointed with Thursday's ruling, because the ruling doesn't handle it, and any attempt to enforce it will spark a street fight with the BC Federation of Labour. In fact, the Fed is more than capable of picking up the ball and carrying it the rest of the way: Jim Sinclair is already calling for a day of action at the Legislature on Monday. In addition to the continuing support from the BC Fed, the Canadian Teachers Federation was running spots on Victoria radio in support of the BCTF, several hours after the ruling came down in Vancouver.

This is not a fight the Liberals can win. While there are some worthwhile comparisons, this is nothing like the HEU dispute last year, unless Shirley Bond plans to outsource teaching BC kids to Sodexho. The BCTF isn't going anywhere, even if there is a microscopic faction who are crossing picket lines, complaining that the union was planning to pick this fight for a long time.

To the scabs at the front of the classroom, this page gives you a gold-plated "Well, duh!" Faced with overcrowded classrooms, having to buy their own supplies, and no wage increases in what's supposed to be the fastest growing economy in Canada, what choice did teachers have but to join the BC Fed and start acting like a real union? You don't like it? You don't think it's "professional"? If acting in the public interest rubs you such a wrong way, maybe teaching in a public school system isn't right for you.

And Shirley, quit trying to bullsh*t the public that you have a contract with teachers. Bill 12 is a contract ON teachers.