Yesterday evening, the Government of Ontario announced they would introduce back-to-work legislation to end the strike and have students back in the classroom by next week, Monday at the earliest. The NDP refused to provide unanimous consent, meaning the legislation will have to be debated and passed over the weekend. The NDP confirmed to CSA last night they are willing to allow debate of the legislation this weekend. The House will reconvene at 3 p.m. for the government to table this legislation, which will be debated through the weekend. Students can watch the debate live at 3 p.m. through this link: http://www.ontla.on.ca/lao/en/debates-and-proceedings/video/#house.
At this time, we expect the legislation to pass by Sunday. We encourage students to keep an eye on their school's email and social media channels for when exactly their classes will resume as most updates will be college-specific.
CSA is extremely disappointed that our suggestion of binding arbitration was apparently agreed to by OPSEU and CEC, but both have said the other would not agree. The constant lack of communication is frustrating; students deserve facts.
Today, CSA will be at Queen's Park to view the introduction of back-to-work legislation. Though this has been a long and frustrating process for students, we are excited to finally see a resolution come to fruition. Throughout the strike, CSA has been advocating on behalf of students, and only students. Attending the introduction of this legislation provides us with another opportunity to make sure the student voice is heard loud and clear: students need to be back in the classroom as soon as possible. We will continue to update students on what's happening and what it means for them.
CSA also has a meeting with the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development today in order to discuss details on the recently announced Student Hardship Fund . Also, we will discuss what options are available for students who want to withdraw from their semester and receive a full refund. We look forward to providing students with updates on this matter. Keep sending us your #StudentStories: the Ministry is reading all of them.
For media inquiries, please contact: Emmaline Scharbach Communications Manager College Student Alliance C: 647 454 9951
communications@collegestudentalliance.ca
