Premier Doug Ford demands ‘consensus’ from doctors and educators before schools can reopen

Thestar.com
May 28, 2021
Robert Benzie and Kristen Rushowy

Premier Doug Ford wanted doctors to write him a prescription to safely reopen schools -- and public health officials were the first to oblige.

Frustrated by often contradictory medical and scientific advice on the pandemic, Ford wrote health and education stakeholders seeking consensus on the divisive issue before any classrooms can open again.

After the premier’s gambit, Dr. David Williams, Ontario chief medical officer of health, and nearly all regional health officers agreed Thursday it would be safe to open some regions as early as next week -- save for one in Porcupine where cases are on the rise.

All officers of health in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area are on side, Williams said.

“I’ve been supporting openings in schools for in-class attendance, the issues around the health of the students and development have been raised to my attention by different experts,” Williams said, adding that a number of areas need to be assessed and “it is a group effort.”

Williams is now “looking forward to seeing what the results of all the rest of the sector’s feed back into this process,” due into Ford Friday at 5 p.m.

Sources told the Star the premier will weigh the advice he is given and determine a course of action on Monday or Tuesday, meaning the earliest any schools could reopen would be later next week.

The chief medical officer’s response came after Ford tried to inoculate his Progressive Conservative government from any criticism for either reopening schools or keeping them shuttered until next September.

“No one wants to see our schools reopen safely more than I do,” the premier wrote in a letter to Williams, the 34 regional medical officers, the “science table” of epidemiologists and doctors, the Canadian Pediatric Society, and others.

“Our government understands the benefits of having children learning in class,” said Ford, who is under mounting pressure from pediatric experts, parents and students to reopen schools, which have been closed to in-class learning since mid-April.

“At the same time, our top priority is to ensure any decision we make on school reopening is based on sound scientific advice, consensus and considers potential or future risks faced by students and staff,” he wrote in a letter first revealed by the Star.

“In recent weeks, there has been a wide range of advice and commentary around the reopening of schools in Ontario. There is consensus in some quarters on how, when and whether schools should reopen, and diverse and conflicting views in others.”

Mindful that he and his Progressive Conservative government will be blamed if there are increased outbreaks of COVID-19 due to students and teachers being back in class, Ford has also asked education unions for their feedback.

“Keeping children safe is our foremost consideration, which is why as experts in health, public health and education we are seeking your perspective,” he wrote.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said “being premier isn’t about being popular. It’s about making the tough decisions. But Ford continues to punt responsibility when it matters most.”

He urged the government to offer rapid testing and also ensure all education workers have priority to get their second vaccine doses to boost safety in schools as kids return for the last few weeks of school.

In his letter to stakeholders, Ford asked if they believe returning to in-person learning is safe for students and education staff, if the new variant out of India poses concerns and if it is “acceptable and safe” that COVID cases will rise. He also asked if one vaccine dose for teachers is sufficient for a return.

The premier pointed to last week’s science table modelling that suggested in-class learning could lead to a spike in daily COVID-19 cases of between six and 11 per cent, which he called “concerning.”

But he also acknowledged the “mental health, academic and other challenges some students have faced with at-home learning, particularly those from low-income, racialized and high-needs neighbourhoods,” he wrote.

“... The difficult decision to close schools is not far behind us and just prior to that, in April, schools were the sources of more outbreaks than workplaces or any other location. That is why we want to take a gradual approach to returning.”

That was news to teachers, who’ve heard repeated public assurances from the government that schools were safe, said Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation President Harvey Bischof.

“Over the past week, we’ve had two admissions that schools were not safe,” he said. “We found out that school reopening could lead to a six to 11 per cent increase in cases, and we are now told schools had the most significant outbreaks in April. It leads me to wonder how the minister of education could put students and educators and their families in harm’s way when -- even if he didn’t know this -- he clearly could not have had evidence to the contrary that schools were, in fact, safe.”

However, he added, while this “all gives me pause,” the union would support reopening schools “where it is truly safe to do so.”

Parents were frustrated, hoping to get some clear answers.

“Ford’s letter fails to acknowledge the significant harms his decision to close schools have inflicted on children, youth and families,” said Tess Clifford, a clinical psychologist and director of the psychology clinic at Queen’s University and part of a coalition of health experts and parents urging school reopenings.

Nora Fayed, a Queen’s professor and occupational therapist who specializes in child well-being research, wondered why Ford is “seeking ‘consensus’ for the issue of children, but not the other hard decisions like health care capacity or businesses?”

Dr. Kirk Leifso, a pediatric infectious diseases physician who is also a part of the Kingston coalition, said “it is clear that ongoing closure of in-person schooling in low to moderate prevalence regions is very unlikely to lead to a significant increase in the burden of COVID-19 in our province ... It is perfectly acceptable to open schools to reduce harm while not interfering with COVID-19 control in a substantial way.”

Williams said Thursday that schools were closed mid-April, “pre-emptively” because of rising cases in the community during the third wave and “because we could not guarantee with our public health monitoring to assure the parents of the safety at that time, we plan for at least close the schools.”