School reopening plan still lacking

February 1, 2021

TORONTO — Mike Schreiner released the following statement regarding today’s government announcement on school reopenings:

“It’s unacceptable that thousands of students are already back in-class and the Minister is talking about things that will be put in place.

Although I appreciate that the Minister is finally recognizing the desperate need for additional PPE, ventilation, and asymptomatic testing that educators and health professionals have long been calling for, these public health measures should have been put in place before in-class learning restarted anywhere.

It’s disappointing that announcing these measures have taken this long.

The continued delay of rapid test deployment — which medical experts have emphasized as a key component of safe school reopenings — is concerning.

And we still don’t have a commitment from Minister Leece to reduce class sizes so students can safely physically distance.

Last fall, the Minister and Premier stood at a mic and said that no funding or resources would be spared in protecting our kids’ health — but they then chose to sit on $12 billion in Covid relief funds and watered down school reopening protocols.

Today’s news conference failed to answer the questions parents, students and educators have. We need transparency from the government and clear benchmarks for when schools are safe to reopen. Our teachers, students, and parents deserve better.”

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