Teachers in Nova Scotia could be on strike before Christmas after 96 per cent of the 9,300 public school members voted in favour of job action Tuesday. "Public school teachers have spoken loud and clear," said Liette Doucet, Nova Scotia Teachers Union president, in a news release sent out Tuesday night. "We feel strongly about providing better education to Nova Scotia's students and are willing to take action to make meaningful change for the learning and teaching environment in this province." Teachers had previously voted down two proposed agreements between their union and the Nova Scotia government. The first came in November of 2015 and the second was earlier this month. Better teaching conditions wanted

The union says the vote shows teachers are united and want better teaching conditions, along with better pay. "Teachers haven't been genuinely consulted in government decisions affecting classrooms and schools and as a result we are spending less time doing the things that matter most to students," Doucet said. "I think for the first time teachers are standing up and finally taking a united stand for our students learning conditions," said Tammy Landry, a music teacher at Antigonish Education Centre who has taught in the classroom for 29 years. "For years now we've been doing more with less and less and less and enough is enough. We're tired of talking about the problems in the classroom, we want some action." Province responds