QUEEN’S PARK — Mike Schreiner released the following statement after the province announced that in class instruction will be cancelled for the remainder of the school year:
“This was the responsible decision to keep students and their families safe.
It is better to reopen schools when a strong safety plan is in place rather than putting millions of kids at risk in packed classrooms.
As a parent, I know that emergency distance learning has been a struggle for everyone.
The government must listen to frontline teachers and devote more resources to make distance learning work so that students do not fall behind.
The cancellation of in class instruction should also trigger an immediate plan for child care so that parents are not left in the lurch.
The Premier must lay out clear guidelines for how Ontarians should balance a return to work with caring for their kids at home.
Parents and low-income families need answers and childcare solutions to reduce the financial hardship from the loss of the school year.
Without financial assistance, many childcare providers face permanent closure and so the government must commit to stabilization funding to keep them afloat.”