Back to work legislation in Ontario college strike expected to pass today

FILE: Leader of the Ontario NDP Andrea Horwath. Photo courtesy of Horwath’s official Facebook page.

TORONTO — Ontario’s legislature is expected to pass a bill today that would force striking faculty at the province’s colleges to return to work.

The governing Liberals have made slow progress in pushing through their back-to-work bill because the New Democrats have refused to agree to speedy passage.

NDP leader Andrea Horwath has said it would be irresponsible to pass any legislation without giving it sufficient scrutiny.

The New Democrats have said they can’t support the bill because it takes away rights from workers.

However, they concede that the government’s majority means passage of the bill today is inevitable.

If the bill is approved today then hundreds of thousands of students could be back in class on Tuesday.

The 12,000 professors, instructors, counsellors, and librarians have been on the picket line since Oct. 15.