Back-to-work legislation to end the strike at York University stalled Sunday, prompting calls for compensation for the 50,000 students caught in the middle of the 12-week dispute.
At an emergency Sunday session of the Ontario legislature, members of the New Democratic Party denied Premier Dalton McGuinty the unanimous consent needed to rush through a vote that would have forced York's 3,500 striking teaching assistants and contract faculty back to work as early as Monday.
Without that agreement, most students will have to wait until the end of this week or possibly later to return to class. That delay led several groups, including opposition politicians, to call on the university to refund fees to students who now face an extended school year with added expenses and less time to earn money in the summer.
"Everyone here is suffering, and students the most," said Lyndon Koopmans, a founder of a student Facebook group formed during the strike. "We are not going to learn as much as we should. It would seem financial compensation is in order."
The leader of York's student union, Hamid Osman, also called for a rebate, and late Sunday a Toronto law firm issued a news release saying it had filed a statement of claim and was looking for students to join a class-action lawsuit against the university.
Ontario Conservative Leader John Tory, who gave his support to the back-to-work bill, also said students deserve some sort of help.
York University spokesman Alex Bilyk said that students would not receive refunds on tuition. He said the school would still squeeze in a complete academic term, cancelling reading week, condensing exam time and extending the winter term to June 2.
"The students are here for the academic program, and that program will be delivered on," he said.
Other Canadian universities have given compensation to students after a strike. Last year, students at St. Thomas University in Fredericton received from $200 to $400 after a labour dispute between the university and faculty that cancelled about one month of classes. The rebate varied among faculties and was based on tuition levels.
Mr. Koopmans said leaders of his YorkNotHostage group on Facebook are considering their options, but he is not convinced that a class-action suit would benefit students, since any penalty levelled against the university might harm their future education.
NDP Leader Howard Hampton defended Sunday's delay, which he said could last "two or three days," accusing the university of refusing to negotiate with its workers and intentionally dragging out the dispute in order to have the government order strikers back to work.
He said there were important issues to debate before passing the back-to-work bill, such as Ontario's "grossly underfunded" university system, which he said ranks last in the country, and the concern that many graduate students work for poverty-level wages. Mr. Hampton also called for a tuition rebate.
Even if the NDP tries to further delay the legislation, the government said it could be passed in a matter of days, with the dispute referred to binding arbitration.
Tyler Shipley, spokesman for Local 3903 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, expressed frustration at the government's actions, saying the union had made significant changes to its position, which centres on job security for contract faculty, many of whom must reapply for their jobs each year even though some have worked at York for more than a decade.
Mr. Shipley said picket lines will remain up at the country's third-largest university this morning as about 5,000 students in selected faculties return to class.
The union, he said, is also consulting with its lawyers on possible legal action to stop the government's move.
Peter Fonseca, Ontario's Minister of Labour, said the government expects to pass the bill — using closure or a time allocation motion if necessary — in a few days: "Hopefully by week's end we will come to a conclusion and we can get the students back into the class."
Deputy Premier George Smitherman defended the Liberals' decision to let the strike go for 12 weeks before intervening, saying it was important to show an "abundance of patience" for the negotiation process.
