Classes have been canceled at four community-college campuses in the Canadian province of New Brunswick because of a strike by custodians, and seven other campuses of the New Brunswick Community College have gone to half-days, according to the CBC.

In making those decisions, the authorities said garbage and unsanitary conditions posed a health risk. The custodians have been on strike since January 10, a local newspaper, the Telegraph-Journal, reported, and the union said it saw no end in sight for the labor dispute. The custodians forced the closing of community colleges provincewide during a similar strike in 2003.

Meanwhile, a faculty strike continues at St. Thomas University, in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Students have not been able to attend classes there since the Christmas break. —Karen Birchard