Could York Students Sue York and CUPE?

There have been rumblings on blogs and facebook accounts since the beginning of the strike here at York that students (and perhaps their parents!) should sue York and/or CUPE because the strike has canceled classes and caused financial difficulties for students. Today in the Globe and Mail, there is mention of talks about a possible ‘class action’ suit. Could students really sue York and the Union?
Lawyers know that the first question you’d have to address is, what is the ’cause of action’. In other words, what law or contract term has York or the Union violated? Right away, advocates of a lawsuit would run into difficulties here. Keep in mind that the strike is completely legal, backed by the full force of the state in the form of the Labour Relations Act, which sets out a series of preconditions for a legal strike, all of which CUPE satisfied. So CUPE and the strikers have done absolutely nothing illegal by engaging in the strike. I think their picket line is illegal: they are clearly obstructing ingress and egress onto the university’s property, which is a tort. But neither the state nor the employer has complained about this, the picket line has been remarkably peaceful, and in any event, it is not the picket line that has caused damage to the students/parents. It is the strike, or at least the university’s decision to cancel classes, that has caused the hardship.
So has York violated any law or contract term? I can’t think of any statute that has been violated. Can anyone? What about a contract term? Assume there is a contract between students and York, the consideration for which is that the student pays fees and the university, in exchange, provides a service: education. I suppose the argument would be that the university has failed to provide its end of the bargain by canceling classes.
I see several problems with this argument in contract. One is that it is not clear yet whether in fact the university has failed to provide the education promised. It might come late, or in a different form, but at this point, the University does intend to complete the year. But the bigger problem is that the contract presumably does not include a term that requires the university to continue classes in the event that the teachers engage in a lawful strike and are therefore unavailable to teach. Can any York student point to a term in a contract they have with the University that requires York to continue to teach classes as scheduled in the event of a lawful strike by its teachers?
If the university actually cancels the year or a term, then I’d think there’d be a pretty strong argument that students are entitled to a refund of tuition for the lost year/term. We are not there yet though.
Can any readers suggest a cause of action that students could rely on in a lawsuit against York or CUPE?