QUEEN’S PARK — NDP Leader Andrea Horwath released the following statement in response to Doug Ford’s choice to close schools until September:
“Children’s mental, physical and emotional health is suffering. Our kids are struggling. And parents — often women — have been forced to stay out of the workforce, or do the superhuman juggling act of helping kids with at-home learning while working from home.
Ontario is the only province in Canada with schools still closed. That’s Doug Ford’s fault. It’s the result of his choices.
He didn’t want to spend the money on smaller class sizes, better ventilation, or in-school testing. He ignored the experts and marched us right into the third wave. He didn’t vaccinate teachers and education workers early enough or quickly enough.
And he’s now ignoring experts from SickKids, CHEO and the Canadian Pediatrics Society who say kids’ mental, physical and emotional health is in jeopardy.
The NDP wants to see investment in schools so they can be reopened regionally, safely.
By putting kids last, Ford is risking their wellbeing: Horwath
Published on June 3, 2021