PORT HOPE, Ont. - There are signs of progress in Toronto's garbage strike, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday, as he expressed optimism that a resolution may be nearing in the weeks-long conflict.

"I like the way things seem to be evolving at this point in time; the signals that we are getting are positive," he said.

The city, McGuinty added, has made it clear "it means business" and workers seem to want to go back to work as well.

"Both sides are very sincere in achieving an outcome, in contrast to, for example the standstill that we found at York University," McGuinty said during a visit to Port Hope, Ont.

"Here there appears to be determination on the part of both sides to get this thing done, so there appears to some progress underway and I would encourage both sides to continue talking."

The strike at York lasted 85 days and was only resolved once the province legislated an end to the conflict.

McGuinty came under fire for failing to intervene more quickly in that dispute, and eventually passed a bill in the legislature without the support of the New Democrats.

But the premier has made clear he is trying to avoid such a move this time around, and would only intervene if health officials advised him to take action.

McGuinty also weighed in on the case of a Toronto man whose death was being blamed on the strike. The man's loved ones say it took an ambulance about 30 minutes to come to his aid, despite three calls to 911, after he had an apparent heart attack.

"It is now incumbent upon EMS in Toronto to provide all necessary reassurances that all steps are being taken to ensure that in the case of an emergency, nobody's health is going to be compromised because of this strike," McGuinty said, also extending condolences to the victim's friends and family.

The head of Toronto's emergency medical service told a news conference Tuesday that any delays in treating the man had nothing to do with the strike.

EMS Chief Bruce Farr said the initial 911 call about the 50-year-old man did not indicate a "life-threatening" situation, and the crew responded within the usual time frame for such calls.

The strike by about 24,000 inside and outside Toronto workers began June 22 and has halted garbage pickup and a host of other city services.

The city of Windsor has had to cope with its own, much longer strike, which has been going on for about three months.

Talks in that dispute resumed last week in front of a new mediator appointed by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, for the first time since the union walked away from the table June 18.