Canadian province facing full-scale teachers' strike

Public schools in Canada's western British Columbia province will remain closed after negotiations between teachers and the provincial government collapsed late Monday.
Public schools in B.C. were closed Monday for a study session the B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF) said was necessary to allow teachers to review the bargaining situation.
The BCTF has threatened a full-scale strike starting Tuesday if there is no agreement teachers' pay and class sizes. Teachers have already taken one-day rotating strike action over the past three weeks.
Both sides blamed each other Monday for misrepresenting their contract proposals and walking away from the bargaining table.
B.C. Premier Christy Clark urged both sides to return to negotiations.
"It's been slow, but we've seen progress every time the BCTF has come back to the table," Clark said. "I had hoped we'd be able to get to an agreement over the weekend, but perhaps even over the next few days, I don't know."
The teachers agreed to lower their wage demands to an 8-percent increase over five years from 9.75 percent, but the government insists on 7 percent over six years.
Teachers voted 89 percent in early March in favor of the limited strike action, after more than a year of stalled contract negotiations. Their pay was cut 10 percent in May after the government instituted a partial lockout.
Last week, the teachers voted 86 percent in favor of a full-scale strike to begin this week if an agreement can not be reached.