The B.C. Court of Appeal has sided with the B.C. government, overturning two previous decisions that had given teachers the right to bargain on class size and composition.

In a 4-1 decision, the court sided with the provincial government and declared its move to strip out clauses related to class size and composition was constitutional.

The decision is a major blow to the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, which won two lower court rulings upholding its bargaining rights.

The majority decision written by Chief Justice Robert Bauman and Justice David Harris finds the government acted in good faith when it consulted with teachers leading up to the introduction of Bill 22 — which took away the B.C. Teachers Federation’s ability to bargain limits on class size, teacher librarian numbers, special needs student ratios, and other elements.