QUEEN'S PARK — NDP Education critic Marit Stiles released this statement in response to Minister Lecce's announcement regarding school testing:
"As usual, Minister Lecce and Doug Ford are way behind the eight ball when it comes to addressing the risks of COVID-19 in schools. As cases spread and disrupted schools across Ontario, parents were forced to crowdsource funding for and access to rapid tests, but were then blocked by the Ford government from using them.
It's unfair they now have to wait until mid-November for the government's take-home tests to arrive. Meanwhile, school boards have had to go it alone on implementing vaccine policies when Doug Ford should be making vaccines mandatory for education workers. These rapid tests should have been in place when schools opened in September.
The Ford government should be proactive for once and announce plans for vaccination of our 5 to 11-year-olds so we're ready to roll as soon as Health Canada approves them.Kids, parents and education workers deserve a whole lot better."