[dennis1]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...it-strike.html

The chair of York Region says he won't intervene in a six-week-old transit strike, though he wants both sides to reach a deal.

Speaking at a news conference in Newmarket, Ont., on Friday, Bill Fisch said the negotiations are up to the striking unions and the private companies that York Region contracts out its transit to.

"The contractors and the unions need to get together, have those discussions. There are offers on the table that have not been reviewed, and our position is that they need to go back to the table," Fisch said.

"At least talk! For six weeks, no one's even said a word. The people who are supposed to be doing that are not doing that…. That's what we are very, very upset about."

Nearly 600 drivers and maintenance staff at have been off the job since Oct. 24, affecting 50,000 commuters on more than 80 routes in Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill and northern York Region. The employees are from three contracted companies: First Student Canada, Miller Transit and Veolia Transportation, which runs York Region's Viva bus rapid transit service.