Back-to-work legislation in Ontario college strike expected to pass today

Ontario's legislature is expected to pass a bill on Sunday that would force striking faculty at the province's colleges to return to work.

The governing Liberals have made slow progress in pushing through their back-to-work bill because the New Democrats have refused to agree to speedy passage.

NDP leader Andrea Horwath has said it would be irresponsible to pass any legislation without giving it sufficient scrutiny.

The New Democrats have said they can't support the bill because it takes away rights from workers. 

Teachers and faculty staff of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union walk a picket line in Toronto. A back-to-work bill that would end an Ontario college faculty strike appears on track to be pushed through the legislature on Sunday. (Martin Trainor/CBC)

However, they concede that the government's majority means passage of the bill today is inevitable.

If the bill is approved today then hundreds of thousands of students could be back in class on Tuesday.

The 12,000 professors, instructors, counsellors, and librarians have been on the picket line since Oct. 16.