TORONTO - Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says he's asked union leaders to allow teachers to resume extracurricular activities in public schools across the province.
He says he received no assurances that the voluntary activities would be restored, but he wanted to reach out personally to see if they could find a way to move ahead.
Two unions representing public elementary and high school teachers were outraged Thursday by his government's decision to use a controversial anti-strike law to impose new two-year contracts on their 126,000 members.
The law had prompted one-day strikes by elementary teachers, while their high school counterparts cut out extracurriculars, such as sports and clubs.
But McGuinty has promised to repeal the law before the end of the month, when he steps down as premier.
It's not clear whether that's enough to convince teachers to go back to voluntary activities once students return to class on Monday.