Brett Gallant is enjoying his visit home in Summerside, but would much rather be in school.
Gallant, 18, is a film student Humber at College in Etobicoke, Ontario.
He’s one of about 500,000 post secondary students who have been caught up in the longest college labour dispute in that province’s history.
He graduated from Three Oaks Senior High earlier this year and headed to Etobicoke in September. He’s renting an apartment there and quickly fell in love with his classes.
“I was really enjoying it … probably the most fun I’ve ever had in a school environment. All the professors were really great. I couldn’t be happier with the school,” said Gallant.
But that changed on Oct. 16 when all his teachers, and 12,000 others around the province, went on strike.
All the talk on his campus was that the strike would last at least a couple of weeks, so Gallant boarded a train and headed home.
There was no sense staying in Ontario, he said.
“We can’t even communicate with the instructors because they’ll lose their strike pay. We can’t hand in assignments. There’s not much we can really do,” he said.
He understands that his teachers are fighting for their jobs, so he isn’t angry with them. It’s just an unfortunate situation, he said.
He was not, however, expecting to be home for more than a month.
“It’s just an expensive waiting game.”
The situation has prompted Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government to announce a plan to introduce back to work legislation. It’s expected to take a few days before it can make it through the legislature.
At this point, however, Gallant would have rather seen the semester be cancelled and some other arrangements made.
“I’m paying for an education. That’s fine. I just want it to be good and not super crammed in.”
Colin.MacLean@JournalPioneer.com
@JournalPMacLean
