TORONTO, ON – CUPE leaders expressed shock but not surprise at the findings in the Toronto Star’s investigation into the ‘watered down’ strategies that the Ontario government used to keep COVID-19 out of schools. Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU), gave the following comment:
Thanks to the Star’s investigation, we now know two things:
- This government put students, workers and families in harm’s way by not carrying out its own safety proposals for school reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic;
and - Premier Ford and Minister Lecce regularly lied to Ontarians about following the best medical advice for reopening schools and about putting students’ safety above financial costs.