Editor’s note: This story has been corrected. A previous version said that the Mohawk Students’ Association supports a proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of students affected by the Ontario colleges strike. In fact, the association’s president did not indicate that the group is supporting the suit, and later clarified its position.
A proposed class action lawsuit over Ontario’s ongoing college strike has been launched on behalf of students affected by the labour dispute.
The legal action, announced Tuesday, comes as striking faculty who’ve been off the job for about a month began to vote on a contract offer.
The Mohawk Students’ Association is not currently part of the legal action, but president Samantha Hoover said she hopes the proposed lawsuit could be a catalyst to help end the strike.
“Whatever it takes to get students back in the classroom is ideal and hopefully this does gain more traction,” she said on The Bill Kelly Show on Wednesday.
LISTEN: Samantha Hoover joins The Bill Kelly Show
Hoover later clarified that the association has no plans to join the proposed suit or any others, while it recognizes “the right of any student to take legal action if they choose to do so (in the event of losses due to the strike).”
The MSA isn’t choosing sides in the labour dispute, Hoover said, but the group is disappointed that a deal hasn’t been reached after five weeks.
“We are still neutral, however we are more firmly advocating day after day for a better contingency plan for all students, because this is quite frankly an unfair situation for everybody,” Hoover said.
WATCH: Student anxiety increasing as strike enters week 5
Hoover said she understands why the class action lawsuit has been proposed. She said the students’ futures are in limbo “with some 700 at Mohawk alone due to graduate this term.”
Meanwhile, students are waiting, with fingers crossed, for the results of the current voting on a contact offer.
About 12,000 Ontario college professors, instructors, counsellors, and librarians haven’t been at work since Oct. 15, leaving hundreds of thousands of students out of class.
Law firm Charney Lawyers filed the proposed class action against the province’s 24 colleges today, saying 14 students have come forward to potentially stand as representative plaintiff.
The notice of action alleges the colleges breached contracts with students by failing to provide vocational training and a full term of classes.
It seeks full refunds for students who choose not to continue with their programs and refunds equivalent to the value of the lost instruction” for students who do want to continue.
With files from the Canadian Press