Strike threatens university students' graduation in Canada

A strike in Canada's two largest universities has derailed students' educational plans, as further strikes by sympathetic faculty were planned Thursday after underpaid teaching assistants marched in a united protest over wages.

This money-grinding strike tactic affected over 100,000 undergraduates across the Greater Toronto Area, throwing them into turmoil on the final stretch of the academic year.

While local students in the University of Toronto and its sister rival York University are mildly upset, the international students from some 194 countries and regions are becoming deeply concerned.

The union demanded that contract faculty, who teach 64 percent of York's undergraduate courses, should "be assigned to courses for up to three years at a time, not just be slotted in on short notice which can hurt the quality of education."

Janice Walls, an advisor and deputy spokesperson for York University, said the university is very committed to reaching an agreement with the union to minimize the disruption to students and get them back to class.

"The university is focused on enabling students to complete their program requirements in a timely fashion, and is aware of the particular needs and concerns of students intending to graduate this spring," she said.

"When a settlement is reached, the Senate Executive Committee will determine the accommodations for work that remains incomplete, how the term will be completed, and when examinations will take place," she added.

Meanwhile, some students were not optimistic about the possibility of an immediate solution.

"This is a six-way fight for funding, you have teaching assistants from two universities under separate leadership, negotiating with two separate unions, making this a hexagonal dialogue. A one-for-all solution is questionable," a Chinese student said on condition of anonymity.

On Tuesday, York's 3,700 teaching assistants and contract professors voted and rejected an offer the union's executive urged them to decline, saying it did not provide job security or wage increases.

Six years ago, York's union staged the longest strike in Canadian history at an English-language university, canceling classes for three months and pushing final exams into the summer. Endi