A 'no-win situation' as Manitoba weighs return to school, parents say
CBC
A parent of three says Manitoba is facing a "no-win situation" as it contemplates a return to in-person learning for students.
The province could reopen schools for everyone while COVID-19 is surging like never before, triggered by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, or it could order a return to some semblance of virtual learning, which is a burden on some parents and families.
"I am very concerned about the [COVID] spread that obviously is happening … so to send them back, as is, seems dangerous," Patricia Petti said.
"But having them home also is bad for them, and I totally agree when people say that they're concerned about mental health and kids not going to school."
That choice — to return Kindergarten to Grade 12 students to in-person learning, or not — is being left to Manitoba health officials and the government this week.
The province already delayed the return to school after the winter break by a few days, until Jan. 10, to assess the impact of the Omicron variant. So far, the variant's made its presence known: daily COVID case counts are breaking records regularly, and those numbers are an undercount since testing capacity is strained.
In recent days, the teachers' union and board of Winnipeg's largest school division have publicly called for moving almost all students to remote learning.
And today, Ontario announced two weeks, maybe longer, of virtual learning in early January.
Petti understands the need to balance concerns about COVID and kids' well-being.
"I think they should be in school, but I think they should be safe. I think that the teachers there should be safe. Everyone should be safe," she said. "It shouldn't be a question of which one's more important, they're both important."
Specifically, she wants a return to last May when some schools were closed for all students, except the children of critical services workers, high-risk students and some students with disabilities. She's the mother of a child with autism who would be eligible for in-person learning.
Another parent, Vanessa Eidse, would like a short period of homeschooling.
It could provide some extra time for the province to slow the spread of COVID-19 and save the health-care system from further being overrun, she said.
"We do know that this [COVID variant] spreads so much more quickly than it has before. And we're in wintertime in Winnipeg. Not outside, we're inside," she said.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.