TORONTO – Ontario Liberals are calling for smaller class sizes and more education workers to be brought into the system to prevent closures due to staff illness. Doug Ford didn’t use the school closure to bring in measures that would keep schools open, and Ontario families are facing more chaos.
“Ontario Liberals have been consistently calling on Doug Ford to make urgent investments in school safety for years,” stated Ontario Liberal Leader, Steven Del Duca. “He has failed to do the heavy lifting needed to prevent the revolving closures. We need a plan to keep schools open safely to end the chaos.”
Ontario Liberals have called for the following measures to keep classrooms safe and open:
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Developing a plan to immediately shore up school staffing capacity to prevent closures.
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Shrinking class sizes by making use of unconventional learning spaces.
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Ensuring every classroom has a HEPA filter and that all workers and students have access to high-quality masks.
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Making the COVID vaccine universal for students by adding it to the list of nine vaccines already required to attend Ontario schools.
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Mandating the COVID vaccine for education workers.
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Ensuring data on COVID cases in schools and childcare centres is transparently reported at a classroom and school level, so that parents understand the situation in their children’s school.
“Ontario families can’t afford any more of Doug Ford’s incompetence,” added Del Duca. “As a parent impacted by the chaos he caused, I will work day and night to keep schools open and put our province on course and moving forward again.”
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