P.E.I. child advocate critical of province's back-to-school plan
CBC
P.E.I.'s Child and Youth Advocate Marvin Bernstein is critical of the way the province handled its plan to protect Island children from COVID-19 while sending them back to classrooms this fall.
Bernstein said his office received an embargoed copy of the province's back-to-school plan only about 90 minutes before that plan was released to the public, allowing no time to provide feedback on the plan, which he said even with amendments still does not provide adequate safeguards for Island schoolchildren.
He said the protective measures put in place for unvaccinated children lag behind those in place in long-term care facilities, or to screen people crossing the border.
"We've taken more stringent measures in terms of protecting seniors … we've talked about tourism and protecting the borders," said Bernstein. "So why should our children and youth be relegated to second-class status?"
At the top of Bernstein's list of suggested changes to the plan is that vaccinations for teachers be mandatory.
There was no requirement in the province's initial plan for schools to track the vaccination status of school staff, much less to make vaccinations mandatory.
This coming Monday, the province will roll out a vaccinate-or-test policy for school and pre-school staff, and for other workers in group homes and at the provincial jail, who come into close contact with vulnerable populations.