Probationary Teacher Wasn’t Fired for Reporting Classroom Violence

A high school teaching assistant assigned to work with special need students with autism was fired just 2 months into the job. The school claimed she didn’t follow the student’s program; the assistant claimed she was fired for trying to file a workplace violence complaint after being repeatedly hit by students. The OHS officer sided with the school; and so did the Labour Relations Board. And now an Alberta court has ruled that the Board’s ruling was reasonable and refused to overturn it. There was ample evidence, including interviews with 5 witnesses, to suggest that termination was due to performance and not related to her safety complaint, the court concluded [Wilson v Alberta (Labour Relations Board), 2021 ABQB 674 (CanLII), September 23, 2021].