Close X
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
ADVT 
National

More classes cancelled as B.C. teachers strike goes into second week of school

Darpan News Desk Canadian Press, 08 Sep, 2014 10:33 AM
    VANCOUVER - All half a million of British Columbia's public school students remain locked out of their classrooms at the start of the second week of the school year as the teachers strike continues.
     
    Over the weekend, the province rejected a deal that tried to end — or at least suspend — the  strike.
     
    Education Minister Peter Fassbender says he would not agree to binding arbitration after government negotiator Peter Cameron advised against the idea, saying the proposal was not serious.
     
    Cameron says the teachers did not put give government a written proposal and failed to guarantee the end of the strike.
     
    But Jim Iker of the BC Teachers' Federation says the union would have asked its members to vote to end the job action, and government was being inflexible.
     
    If both sides had gone forward with the deal, a third party would have been appointed to draw out contract details that teachers and government would have been forced to agree upon.
     
    Fassbender had previously given a cool response to the idea, but stopped short of "categorically" rejecting the proposal.
     
    However, since Cameron's suggestion, it appears arbitration is completely out of the picture.
     
    After government's rejection of the idea, Cameron said he believed the next step toward resolving the dispute would be to hold talks with veteran mediator Vince Ready.
     
    The teachers' union has also expressed openness to the idea on Twitter.
     
    Ready is regarded as one of Canada's top labour troubleshooters, but he said last week the two sides were too far apart for mediation to be effective.
     
    But Cameron says Ready is still monitoring the situation.
     
    The ongoing job action has prompted one school district to entertain its international students  because refunds for the annual admission fee will not be given for time lost during the strike.
     
    The Delta School District charges $13,000 for students from around the world to come learn English and attend its classes for a year.
     
    Spokeswoman Deneka Michaud (mi-show) says administrators will take students to see parks, lakes and do Canadian activities for several days this week.
     
    She says the district will monitor the strike situation and make plans on how it will handle the international students if job action keeps going.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    NATO approves new rapid response force aimed at deterring Russian aggression

    NATO approves new rapid response force aimed at deterring Russian aggression
    NEWPORT, Wales - Seeking to counter Russian aggression, NATO leaders approved plans Friday to create a rapid response force with a headquarters in Eastern Europe that could quickly mobilize if an alliance country in the region were to come under attack.

    NATO approves new rapid response force aimed at deterring Russian aggression

    Tony Accurso says he helped former Montreal police chief after failed election bid

    Tony Accurso says he helped former Montreal police chief after failed election bid
    MONTREAL - Former construction magnate Tony Accurso says he gave $250,000 to help Jacques Duchesneau because the ex-Montreal police chief was in debt after a failed bid to become mayor.

    Tony Accurso says he helped former Montreal police chief after failed election bid

    Jury Selection In Luka Rocco Magnotta's Long-awaited Murder Trial Set To Begin

    Jury Selection In Luka Rocco Magnotta's Long-awaited Murder Trial Set To Begin
    MONTREAL - One of Canada's most publicized and shocking criminal cases resumes Monday when jury selection begins in the first-degree murder trial of Luka Rocco Magnotta.

    Jury Selection In Luka Rocco Magnotta's Long-awaited Murder Trial Set To Begin

    NATO Allies Deem Islamic State A Significant Threat, Agree On Coalition To Take On Militants

    NATO Allies Deem Islamic State A Significant Threat, Agree On Coalition To Take On Militants
    NEWPORT, Wales - The U.S. and 10 of its key allies agreed Friday that the Islamic State group is a significant threat to NATO countries and that they will take on the militants by squeezing their financial resources and going after them with military might.

    NATO Allies Deem Islamic State A Significant Threat, Agree On Coalition To Take On Militants

    WHO: Blood from Ebola survivors should be used to treat patients, 2 promising vaccines found

    WHO: Blood from Ebola survivors should be used to treat patients, 2 promising vaccines found
    LONDON - Desperate to restore hope amid the Ebola crisis, the World Health Organization said Friday it would accelerate the use of experimental treatments and vaccines to contain the expanding epidemic in West Africa.

    WHO: Blood from Ebola survivors should be used to treat patients, 2 promising vaccines found

    Trial Of Mountie In Jail-sex Case To Proceed In B.C. Supreme Court

    Trial Of Mountie In Jail-sex Case To Proceed In B.C. Supreme Court
    KAMLOOPS, B.C. - The trial of a Mountie charged with breach of trust for allegedly watching two female inmates have sex in a jail cell will proceed despite a judge's skepticism that the officer should even be prosecuted.

    Trial Of Mountie In Jail-sex Case To Proceed In B.C. Supreme Court