Sudbury schools staying closed due to Ford's failure to invest: NDP

SUDBURY — NDP MPP Jamie West said Sudbury schools remaining closed for the remainder of the school year is the direct result of Doug Ford's failure to invest in making schools safe.

"Parents, teachers and kids are exhausted and fed up; many parents, especially women, have been forced out of the workforce; families are contending with children's learning loss and disengagement, and children’s mental, physical and emotional health is suffering," said West.

"Families and educators in Sudbury have anxiously awaited Ford's decision on whether to reopen schools, and his eleventh-hour decision leaves many in the lurch, like usual. As a result of this government's failure to listen to health and education experts who have spent months urging them to implement measures to makes schools safe, everyone is now feeling stressed and helpless.”

Public Health Sudbury has stated it is prepared to support local schools in transitioning to in-person learning by leading effective case and contact tracing management.

“Locally, we’re all working together to do what’s right and the Conservative government won’t help us. Not putting the needs of our children first is wrong. Ford and his Conservatives marched us into the third wave because they just didn't want to spend the money. The NDP will continue calling for investment in schools so they can reopen regionally and safely, with smaller classes, second dose vaccines for education workers, contact tracing and better ventilation."