MPP Ernie Hardeman thinks the Province should have stepped in sooner to get students back to class.
WOODSTOCK - College faculty in Ontario, including the Woodstock Fanshawe Campus were back at work today as they get set to welcome students back to class tomorrow.
The 12-thousand professors, instructors, counsellors and librarians had been on strike for five weeks until the Ontario government passed back-to-work legislation over the weekend. Local MPP Ernie Hardeman says it's a shame that the Government didn't step in sooner.
"I am very pleased that it is finally over but we really do think it is important to remember that it really shouldn't have taken that long, that if it was going to be decided by back to work legislation that it should have been done one week after the strike."
Hardeman says this could have been avoided if the Government was more active from the beginning.
"Finally after 5 weeks the Premier had a meeting with the two sides and came to the conclusion that they were irreconsidable differences, which is the exact same thing she would have found if she had the meeting a week after the strike started and we would of avoided 4 weeks of pain and suffering for the students."
Students in Woodstock will head back to class tomorrow. The semesters are being extended and the Christmas break is being shortened to make up for the lost time.
Meanwhile the Province is ensuring that college students returning to classes following the strike will receive the support they need to complete their studies. The province has required colleges to establish dedicated student support funds with net savings from the strike that will assist students who have experienced financial hardship as a result of the strike.
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