Teachers’ unions throwing up ‘every obstacle,’ says Ford government.
Ontario school reopenings run into controversy
The battles over Ontario’s delayed March break and classroom health risks have brought into new focus the tensions between the Ford government and the province’s teachers’ unions.
Teachers unions say there is still much work to be done to ensure safe school returns, and that they have been asking the province for the data upon which it is basing its school-opening decisions. They also criticized the province for delaying the March break vacation a couple of weeks until April, while easing lockdown restrictions elsewhere, such as reopening businesses.
but a senior Ontario government source says the province is leading the country on safe school returns, “despite union obstruction at every possible step.”
Ontario has been one of the most cautious provinces when it comes to schools during the pandemic. Students were back in school in the fall. Then, following Christmas break, most students returned to distance learning under a provincewide pandemic lockdown.
Over the past month or so in the province, there has been a gradual return of in-person learning, depending on jurisdiction and COVID case loads, with school districts in york, Peel and Toronto the last to return to in-person learning this week.
The government source pointed to a variety of pandemic-related initiatives the government has battled with the unions: scrapping a seniority-based hiring rule in October to get more teachers into classrooms; extending the time retired teachers can teach; and pushing back on mask policies that required their use both indoors and outdoors.
The province has introduced a number of measures it says will keep students safe in classrooms, including procuring up to 50,000 asymptomatic tests for students per week, both PCR and rapid test. It has also improved ventilation in about 95 per cent of all Ontario schools.
The province has also provided funding for the hiring of 625 public health nurses, 3,400 additional teachers, 1,400 custodians and hundreds of principals, vice-principals and admin staff to support virtual learning.
There are also mask policies for everyone in the classroom. Students and staff are also required to self-screen for COVID-19.
“They’ve basically thrown up every obstacle possible, despite our best intentions,” the source said.
Sam Hammond, president of the elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, said they’re focused on safety in schools, and the issues the Ontario government has with the unions is “us doing our jobs.”
“It just seems that if you disagree with anything this government says ... if you speak out about what they’re doing or suggest something else, you become an obstructionist,” Hammond told National Post.
“Ontario is leading this country with a comprehensive plan to keep schools safe ... we will do whatever it takes to protect students and staff," said a statement from education Minister Stephen Lecce. "We will continue to be guided by the best public health advice, not teacher union rhetoric, but science and facts that have proven that schools have been safe and can continue to be safe with the continued adherence to the rules.”
The government says it has a low rate of COVID-19 cases for those under the age of 20 compared to other provinces, with around 1,200 cases per 100,000 people. Quebec has almost 2,900, Alberta has 2,500, while british Columbia has just shy of 1,100 cases per 100,000.
Provincial data shows some fluctuation, week over week, for new cases among school-aged children and youth, but with an overall downward trend. The week of Feb. 3 to 9 shows 806 new cases, and Feb. 10 to 16 shows 761 new cases. but, if you look at symptomatic cases, as Ottawa biostatistician ryan Imgrund did, it shows that after weeks of declines, the under 20 age cohort — not exactly the same as the above figures — experienced a 14 per cent increase in the past week.
“It does seem to be rising in some of these health units,” said Imgrund, who works with Ottawa Public Health.
Late last week, as the province warily watched the spread of COVID-19 variants, Lecce announced March break would be pushed back until April. The concern is travel or gatherings might risk a spike in COVID-19 cases.
A joint statement from the four largest teachers’ unions in the province criticized the postponement, and laid the blame for concerns about COVID-19 and the variants on other provincial policy failures.
“These are unprecedented times, and this is a much-needed break for students, teachers, education workers, and families who have been under tremendous pressure throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement said. “The government’s decision to postpone March break does not take into consideration the mental health and well-being of those involved.”
Hammond says the union is still waiting to see the data informing the government’s school decisions. "We’re still waiting for an answer on that and a similar question has been asked on postponing March break,” Hammond said.
“The concerning part is that while they’re doing that, the government is relaxing many of the restrictions in terms of lockdowns across the province.”