Ontario's debt crisis
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Members of Provincial Parliament engage during Question Period at Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario
Credits: BRIAN THOMPSON/QMI AGENCY
TORONTO - Summer vacation just got cancelled for Ontario MPPs.
Government House leader John Milloy announced Monday the House would return early - Aug. 27 - to deal with a proposed bill forcing a two-year wage deal on the province's teachers.
Queen's Park wasn't supposed to return for its fall session until Sept. 10.
The wage bill is angrily opposed by two of the largest teacher unions with more than 93,000 members, but Milloy said it's necessary to freeze teacher wages to help fight the deficit. The bill would also ban teacher strikes for two years.
Passage of the bill is far from certain because neither opposition party has expressed support for it. The Liberals have a minority and need at least some votes from across the aisle to pass legislation.
