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The price of labour peace with educators could hit an estimated $7 billion, Education Minister Stephen Lecce says.

Demands by Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) members — who are conducting their second, one-day strike Wednesday — would cost $1.6 billion over the life of a three-year contract, the provincial government projects.

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If spread across all provincial education workers, the cost would hit almost $3 billion in the third year of contracts and the total cost of all contracts could be in the ballpark of $7 billion, the government estimates.

Education contracts have “me too” language that entitle them to improvements negotiated by fellow teacher unions.

The government believes it is in taxpayers’ interest to release these figures, said Lecce Tuesday afternoon.

“This isn’t a game, these are our kids, they should be in class tomorrow,” the minister said. “My hope is this information provides greater specificity of the impacts to the taxpayers of this province, and what they’re actually asking the government, the people who pay the bills, the taxpayers of this province, to pay.”