Summer ends two weeks early for MPPs as Premier Dalton McGuinty recalls the minority Legislature next Monday, hoping to win support from rival parties for his controversial bill freezing wages for teachers.

“There’s not a better way to do to do this,” he said in Ottawa on Tuesday, taking aim at two teacher unions that have not agreed to “hit the pause button” on their paycheques as Ontario grapples with a $15-billion deficit.

“We’ve given teachers reasonable and responsible pay increases over the course of the past nine years,” the premier added, maintaining he needs the “upper hand” on how taxpayers’ money is spent.

Government House leader John Milloy acknowledged the bill won’t get an easy ride given that the McGuinty administration has passed only three bills since last October’s election. Ten more are stalled.

“I haven’t heard warm and fuzzy things from either side,” Milloy said, referring to the opposition parties — including the Progressive Conservatives calling for a legislated wage freeze for the entire public sector.

Both the NDP and the Conservatives said they have “concerns” about the teacher bill and won’t pledge to support it at this stage.

“We want to look at details . . . we’ll have to wait and see,” said Tory MPP Rob Milligan, (Northumberland—Quinte West).

MPPs weren’t due to return until Sept. 10 but that changed when only two teacher unions — the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association and a union representing francophone educators — agreed to a wage freeze bill.

The government is trying to get the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation on side to prevent contract rollovers Sept. 1 that will cost taxpayers an extra $473 million.

The two unions have threatened to take the government to court over the bill for taking away their right to bargain, but Milloy maintained the province has done its “due diligence” by trying to negotiate first.

Both holdout unions have said they are not planning to strike and want to continue negotiating with school boards.

“The last thing we want to do is interrupt anyone’s education,” said Sam Hammond, president of the elementary union. “I don’t feel the heat here.”

If the bill does not pass until after Sept. 1, it would claw back any pay raises and sick days that would accrue for teachers to cash out upon retiring.

The bill gives the government the power to impose contracts on teacher unions and school boards if they do not reach deals by the new year, and effectively bars strikes and lockouts.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath accused McGuinty’s government of bringing in the teacher wage freeze bill to appeal to voters in the Sept. 6 byelection in Vaughan and Kitchener—Waterloo.

“It’s always about the government manoeuvring in their own interest,” said Horwath.

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McGuinty did not deny he hopes byelection voters are paying attention to the issue, saying they can “weigh in” on whether the deals signed by Catholic and francophone teachers should be imposed on others.

The Liberals would have a de facto majority if they hold Vaughan and gain Kitchener—Waterloo, which was a Progressive Conservative riding for more than two decades underElizabeth Witmer.

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