TORONTO - Premier Dalton McGuinty is encouraging mayoral candidates to debate whether to make the Toronto Transit Commission an essential service -- something the province is willing to consider.
McGuinty says it's up to the city to decide whether to take away transit workers' right to strike and the election campaign is a great time to discuss it.
But if the new council that's elected after the October municipal election decides a change is best, McGuinty says, he'd consider it "very carefully."
Former health minister David Caplan has introduced a private member's bill that would prevent a strike or a lockout at the transit commission and lays out an arbitration process in cases where bargaining breaks down.
The bill has passed first reading, but Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne says it doesn't reflect the government's position.
Caplan, now a Liberal backbencher, says he introduced the bill because people are fed up with a perceived decline in transit service.
