“They have not refused (sic) to call off this strike and therefore, we have no choice but to introduce this bill, which can be passed this afternoon, in order to prevent a strike and create some stability,” Lecce said to CP24 in an interview on Thursday.  morning.
	About 55,000 Ontario education workers – including custodians, administrative staff and education support workers – represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) are set to walk off the job Friday, despite the strike likely to be illegal.
	Earlier this week Lecce introduced legislation that would ban workers from striking and impose a four-year contract.  In the legislation, the Keeping Students In Class Act, the government said it would use the Plea Clause — a rarely used provision of the Canadian constitution — to sidestep any potential challenge to the law on the grounds that it violates workers’ Charter rights.
	The law is expected to be voted on in the PC-majority legislature at Queen’s Park on Thursday afternoon.
	The bill would mandate a four-year contract that includes a 2.5 percent pay raise for those making less than $43,000 a year and a 1.5 percent raise for all other employees.
	CUPE has asked for an 11.7 percent increase, which equates to about $3.25 more an hour, across the board.
	Canada’s annual inflation rate currently hovers around 7 percent.
	While the union tabled a counteroffer late Tuesday, Lecce indicated the government would not negotiate further under the threat of a strike, apparently setting off a standoff between the two sides on Friday that will close dozens of schools across the province.
	Ministry officials said the government remains at the negotiating table.  However, face-to-face talks between the two sides are not taking place at this time.
	“This is the last resort of any government.  But when they commit to strike action, the government will use every tool at our disposal to provide some stability and certainty to millions of parents who are horribly upset tomorrow and 2 million children who should be in the classroom,” Lecce said.
	The government has threatened heavy fines for striking workers.
	Labor and civil rights groups faulted the legislation and responded with outrage at the Ford administration’s willingness to use the clause, a rare tool it used just last year to pass a bill restricting third-party campaign ads.
	Ford also threatened in 2018 to use the clause to unilaterally shrink the size of Toronto City Council if the courts struck down his move on constitutional grounds.
	Ontario’s latest willingness to use the legislative “nuclear option” drew a rebuke from Premier Justin Trudeau on Wednesday, with the premier calling it “wrong and inappropriate” and saying the federal government will weigh its options for a response.
	The union announced Wednesday that the strike would begin Friday and continue indefinitely.
	On Thursday, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) said its education workers will also join CUPE members in a day of protest on Friday.
	“OPSEU/SEFPO education workers will walk off the job this Friday in a monumental show of solidarity with their CUPE colleagues who are set to stage a province-wide protest against Stephen Lecce and the Ford government’s Bill 28,” they said the unions in their announcement.  .
	Toronto’s public and Catholic school boards have said schools will not be open if there is a strike on Friday.

	– With files from Katherine DeClerq