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But school boards and teachers still need to reach local collective agreements under a government-imposed deadline of Sept. 1.

If they’re not reached within three weeks, the old contracts would automatically roll over into the new school year — something Broten said the province simply can’t afford.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has threatened to recall the legislature for an emergency session to impose a new contract on teachers if they can’t reach agreements with local school boards by Sept. 1.

“We’ve worked long and hard and been sincere and earnest in our efforts to work with our teaching partners, but at some point in time you’ve got to act,” McGuinty said after touring a school in Windsor.

“And respect for the collective bargaining process cannot be used as an excuse to do nothing,” he said.

The NDP are running faster than Usain Bolt away from any government measure that would address public sector compensation

The cash-strapped government has been trying to negotiate a two-year wage freeze with more than one million public sector workers to eliminate a $15-billion deficit by 2017-18.

Neither McGuinty nor Broten would say whether the legislation would be a confidence motion, which could trigger a general election barely a year after the last one.

Liberal sources said it was “premature” to talk about declaring any legislation to deal with teachers a confidence motion, which would automatically spark an election if it was defeated.