The B.C. government says it expects legislation forcing the province's public school teachers to suspend job action to pass through the legislature by next Thursday.
The word comes on the same day the teachers' union announced it doesn't expect another walkout ahead of spring break later this month.
Education Minister George Abbott says the government will appoint a mediator in the dispute shortly after the legislation passes through the house.
More than half a million students went back to class today after teachers staged a three-day strike to protest the government's legislation.
Abbott isn't saying who the mediator might be, but quipped that Mahatma Gandhi -- the long dead independence leader in India -- wasn't available to negotiate.
Earlier in the dispute, Abbott said any mediator appointed in the dispute would have to walk on water.
