Announcement of delay of March Break triggers mixed feelings from teachers and parents

BY PAUL JUNOR

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Leece has hinted that the government was open to cancelling March Break, 2021. He told Breakfast Television on February 4th, 2021 that he will base this decision on the advice of Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. Minister Leece states, “I will follow his advice and do whatever it takes to protect Ontario families. I believe Canadians should stay home and avoid travel given the emergence of these new variants.” He announced on Thursday, February 11th, 2021 that he would make an announcement the following week.

He released a statement regarding March Break at news.ontario.ca which states, “In support of our collective efforts to keep schools safe, we are postponing March break until April 12th-16th, 2021. This decision was made with the best advice of Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and public officials, including consultations with many local Medical Officers of Health.” Minister Leece wanted to assure the public that, “It is critical we follow public health advice to protect schools and avoid a repeat of the concerning spike in youth-related cases over the winter break, when students and staff were out of schools for a prolonged period of time. We are taking these precautions based on advice from health experts, including the province’s Science Table and the Chief Medical Officer of Health, to help protect against the emerging COVID-19 variants of concern.”

He states unequivocally, “March Break is being postponed, not cancelled. To keep schools open, we must keep them free of COVID-19. The actions announced today serves to limit opportunities for congregation – while reaffirming the evidence that schools are safe for students. By continuing to follow public health advice, and by introducing additional safety measures and more testing, we are supporting our collective efforts to keep COVID-19 from entering our schools.”

He expects private schools to follow the public schools and alter their spring break dates.

The Toronto Star reported on Thursday, Friday 11th, 2021 that health officials are worried that there may be a third wave of COVID-19 if: the stay-at-home orders are not entered, more people vaccinated, and transmission rates reduced. Steni Brown, Dean of the Dallas Lana School of Public Health, told the Star that, “The best bet we can offer from science is this. If we’re able to pull the impact of COVID-19 down further by sticking to public health measures and aggressive vaccination, we can avoid that second wave and hope for late spring and summer that’s much safer and more open.”

In addition, Cathy Abraham (President of the Ontario Public School Board’s Association) told the Toronto Star, “We recognize what’s happening now with the pandemic, we need to follow public health and we need to get this under control. It could have been worse, it could have been the end of June, so putting it off for one month is perhaps the best we could hope for; but we do need a break, our students, our staff, our teachers, moms and dads, everybody just needs a, break from being in front of a screen or in schools under those circumstances.”

CTV reported on Thursday, February 11th, 2021 that four teachers’ unions expressed their displeasure in a statement. It reads, “The government’s decision to postpone March Break does not take into consideration the mental health and well-being of those involved.” They totally opposed this decision. It continues, “The postponement of March Break shows, yet again, the inadequacies of the Progressive Conservative government’s planning. If there are concerns related to travel and gatherings during March, these should be addressed by the government through other means.”

Minister Leeece is convinced that, “These decisions – based on the advice of medical experts-are never easy, but they are necessary to keep Ontario families safe.”