Alberta's finance minister says the province will consider back-to-work legislation if teachers are still off the job when the legislature returns later this month.

Nate Horner says there still a major divide between what the union representing striking teachers is asking for and what the government is willing to spend.

The provincewide strike, affecting about 750,000 students across 2,500 schools, entered its seventh day Wednesday.

A new contract proposal from the Alberta Teachers' Association was the subject of a bargaining meeting Tuesday, the first since its 51,000 teachers walked off the job Oct. 6.

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Horner, in an interview

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