Thousands of public school teachers are being asked for guidance from their union leaders on the province's push for a ten-year deal.
The president of the teachers' federation, Susan Lambert, denies claims that this week's vote is seeking a mandate to reject so-called interference by the government.
"Just taking a pulse of our membership before the vacation break. We're giving our members an opportunity to endorse the bargaining team and move on from there. It's simply a snapshot of the province for us to determine whether or not we're on the right track with our members."
Education Minister Peter Fassbender suspended contract talks yesterday, and appointed a special negotiator to work out plans for the ten-year deal, campaigned for by Premier Christy Clark.
Lambert insists bargaining continues.
Fassbender says it's a good the union is asking for feedback.
"I'm delighted that they're talking to their membership. I've tried to communicate very clearly to them where we want to go as a government and that's a spirit of cooperation and working together. So I think whatever feedback they get will guide their discussions, but it'll also help us in terms of maybe some of the hurdles we have to overcome."
He would not what might happen if teachers flatly reject the government's mandate on the 10-year deal.
The union's current collective agreement expires at the end of this month.