Not good to point fingers: Bentley By KATE DUBINSKI, LONDON FREE PRESS EDUCATION REPORTER

As angry students picketed Chris Bentley's London riding office for the third time in two weeks, The Free Press spoke with Ontario's colleges and universities minister, who has kept a low profile in the midst of a 24-college faculty strike.

Q You're in London. Why didn't you talk to the college students picketing your office?

I was busy working on the issues they're concerned with.

What are you doing to get faculty and college management back to the table?

We've been working on several levels . . . We have Ministry of Labour mediators talking to both sides. I am providing active encouragement to get the two parties to see that talking is in both of their interests and in the students' interests.

What is "active encouragement?" Phone calls? Meetings?

I'll just leave it at active encouragement. And there was a new development . . . the colleges are coming up with a plan so students don't lose their academic year. It's good to hear that one of the parties is trying to make sure of that.

Each college will come up with a plan by next week. Doesn't that imply managers don't plan to talk to the union anytime soon?

I don't know if it implies that. For the first time in 10 years, there is net new hiring and new money (going into the colleges), yet this is the year that they aren't talking. It's ironic.

The union says it is concerned about how the colleges are spending your government's investment in post-secondary education. Are you concerned with how the money is being spent?

Before they got any money his year, the colleges had to sign accountability agreements . . . There will be more of that to come and also more faculty hirings, more support staff, new equipment . . . all things very important to a quality college system.

Have you had pressure from industry to get the two parties to talk, seeing as they rely on trades and apprentices from colleges?

That's not been brought to my attention. One of the ironies is that this government has been actively talking about . . . skilled trades and apprenticeships and how important they are. It's a bit difficult to get that message out when this is going on.

So whose fault is it the two parties aren't talking?

It doesn't do anyone any good to point fingers. It is in the interest of both parties and the students to negotiate.

Do you have a time frame in mind for when the government may legislate faculty back to work?

No . . . I'm still hopeful that the parties will decide . . . to negotiate.

The last two weeks have been a bit of a public relations nightmare for you, especially when you announced a 4.5-per-cent tuition hike (last Tuesday) and were booed by students.

No, they didn't boo me. I made the announcement, and then I answered every question . . . It's been an interesting time. It's a great privilege to be in this position.

Do you regret making the tuition-hike announcement at the start of the faculty strike?

We had to make the announcement so students and their families could make decisions about what to do next year.