Toronto could face labour a disruption within three weeks, after city officials filed more legal documents with the province's labour minister on Thursday.
The city said it requested a "No Board Report" from the Ontario Minister of Labour related to the collective bargaining with the Toronto Civic Employees Union (CUPE) Local 416, which represents some 6,000 of the city's outside workers.
The notification puts the union in a legal strike position and the city in a legal lockout position 17 days from the date of the notification.
Collective bargaining with another union continues. The groups have been without contracts since the agreements ended on Dec. 31.
"The City of Toronto wants a negotiated settlement, which is why we have taken this step," Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday said in a release. "We remain hopeful that if meaningful negotiations finally begin, a resolution remains possible during this 17-day period."
The city has been frustrated by the slow progress in talks with the outside union, noting it has met twice since the new year with the union but has seen little progress.
"Conciliation with Local 416 has not worked so far and the parties are at an impasse," it said in a release. "In order to put a sharper focus on the city's interest in obtaining a negotiated agreement, the city has taken the next legal step available in its ongoing efforts to negotiate an agreement."
CUPE Local 416 called the city's decision "hasty" and noted that the decision is the "latest step in the Ford administration's campaign against public services."
"It leaves us asking why the city is in such a rush to declare negotiations at an impasse," said Mark Ferguson, said president of the Toronto Civic Employees Union, Local 416.
Ferguson also said the city has "now set the clock ticking towards a possible labour disruption in less than three weeks."
"Our members do not want a labour disruption, and we have offered to work with the city to identify savings that do not harm the vital services Torontonians depend on," said Ferguson.
The city claims it has a plan in place to for key city services in the event of a strike.
