Not receiving PPE? Thornhill MPP Gila Martow calls for ‘equal treatment’ for all schools

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 13, 2022

As calls continue to better equip public schools with safety measures during the pandemic, a York Region MPP is calling for “equal treatment” of independent and faith-based schools in a statement published Tuesday, Jan. 11.

Conservative MPP Gila Martow said these schools were “excluded” from receiving personal protective equipment (PPE).

“I was disappointed when the Ministry of Education recently informed me that non-public, independent schools were not being included for receiving PPE for staff and students,” said Martow.

In Ontario, private schools operate as businesses or non-profit organizations independent of the Ministry of Education, following the province’s education act.

Unlike private schools in other provinces, they do not receive any funding or other financial support from the government.

Thornhill has a high concentration of Jewish Canadians and is home to a number of private Jewish schools.

“It is nonsensical to exclude anyone from access to safety funding and resources in a congregate setting,” Martow said. “A HEPA machine filtering the breath of, say, a Jewish or a Muslim student in a separate school, contributes to safeguarding public health and preventing outbreaks in the exact same measure as one filtering the breath of a student in a publicly funded school.”

In September last year, controversy ensued after reports of private schools receiving the rapid antigen COVID-19 tests procured by the federal government for the purpose of asymptomatic surveillance on students while this wasn’t take place at public schools.

However, Ontario’s education ministry later said the taxpayer-funded kits will no longer be distributed at private schools.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Doug Ford government confirmed on Tuesday that Ontario schools will reopen for in-person learning on Jan. 17.

The news has mixed reactions since many families feel that online learning isn’t working, but there are others who feel the right precautions in terms of safety haven’t been implemented.

Muna Kadri, president of District 16 Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation for York Region, also cautioned in a tweet that schools aren’t safe yet.

“If schools are so safe wouldn’t they be throwing tests at schools to prove there’s no COVID? Wouldn’t that be the vindication this government desperately wants?” she wrote.

Also, in response to Martow’s statement, Kadri also tweeted, “Is ‘non-public independent’ her code for private schools?”

A York Region biostatistician and educator Ryan Imgrund asked, “So what’s the plan to make Ontario schools safe?”

“No PCR testing, no reporting of cases in schools, and an unscientific five-day isolation period? Yeah -- this will end well.”

Prior to Christmas, York Region Region District School Board confirmed on Dec. 23 it received a memo from the Ministry of Education that boards now had an option to order non-fit-tested N95 masks for staff to access.

Before, educators weren't allow to bring or wear N95 masks.