Ontario students protest teacher strikes

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TORONTO, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Ontario high school students have begun protesting one-day strikes by teachers in the Canadian province.

Students at many schools walked out Monday, when extracurricular activities were canceled, the Toronto Star reported. A petition urging teachers and the provincial government to begin serious negotiations was posted by the Ontario Student Trustees' Association and quickly picked up 6,000 signatures.

"It's a problem between the ministry and the unions, so why have students been dragged into it?" asked Kourosh Houshmand, an association vice president who attends a Toronto high school.

The students have scheduled a mass rally Thursday in Toronto.

Meanwhile, unions announced more strikes. The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario said its members will not be on the job Friday in Barrie, Guelph and Peterborough, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has said the provincial government will not crack down on the strikes as long as they are limited to a day. He said increasing teacher pay is simply impossible with Ontario trying to close a budget gap.