'Nothing new': More questions than answers in Ontario's back-to-school plan, teachers' unions say
Ontario's newly announced back-to-school plan falls short on providing guidance surrounding vaccines and contact tracing, teachers' unions in Waterloo Region say.
"It's just a revision of what we've been doing for the past 18 months and there's nothing really of substance, nothing new," said Patrick Etmanski with Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association Waterloo Region.
Ontario's plan for September, revealed on Tuesday, will see all students able to return to the classroom full time for the first time in months.
Remote learning will still be an option.
The 26-page plan outlines additional safety protocols, including self-screening for symptoms daily, but did not provide information on how schools will deal with COVID-19 outbreaks or if there will be different rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated students.
The Ontario government said additional information is "forthcoming."
"People are wondering what the heck is going on when it comes to things like testing and tracing, what is that going to look like in September," said Jeff Pelich with Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Waterloo Region.
Among other safety guidelines, masks will be mandatory for all students between Grade 1 and Grade 12, but aren't required outdoors or while eating.
The government says school boards must be prepared for potential closures if the COVID-19 situation worsens.
The union for public high school teachers says the plan to have secondary students return to only two courses a semester is not what the local board planned for – a plan the union says was approved by the province months ago.
"Now it appears anyway that we're being told to go to quadmester and that's going to be extremely frustrating," said Rob Gascho with Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation Waterloo Region.
For parents and students in the area, the plan has drawn mixed reactions.
"I'd go to school, it's my parents' decision and I get to see my friends, but I would stay home if I had the decision," said Grade 5 student Angela Rikita.
Some parents are now left wondering if school boards will allow them to rethink their decisions about in-person or remote learning.
"Instead of sending them in person we'd rather go online or instead of going online, we'd rather send them in person. Is there going to be that option for parents? Are they going to reopen that discussion?" said parent Wendy Ashby.
With files from CTV Toronto.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.