Ontario Liberal Party leader Steven Del Duca is promising to make COVID-19 shots mandatory for public school children and teachers if elected this June.
Del Duca made the promise at a press conference on Saturday in Ottawa, and said adding the Covid vaccine to the list of other compulsory vaccines including polio and measles “will protect vulnerable kids.”
“The best way to get back to normal is to make classrooms safer. Ontario Liberals will do just that by expanding the list of universal vaccines to include the COVID-19 vaccine and requiring all frontline education workers to be vaccinated,” said Del Duca.
Del Duca also said that he is “offering people in Ontario a clear choice” between his Liberal government, which would “make classrooms safer with ventilation and vaccines,” and “four more years of the Doug Ford’s Conservatives’ cuts and classroom chaos.”
If the mandate were implemented, Ontario would be the first province in Canada to require parents to vaccinate their kids against COVID-19 in order for them to obtain an in-person public education.
The Ontario government currently mandates nine vaccines through the Immunization of School Pupils Act – including shots for measles and polio – but not the COVID-19 vaccines which have been at the heart of many controversial debates. Exemptions are offered under the act.
The Liberals received major pushback for the proposal, including from some members of the legacy media. Globe and Mail columnist Robyn Urback said on Twitter that the policy would “seriously alienate” and “strategically seems like a bad call.”
Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley also shared his thoughts on the matter, saying that Del Duca’s policy might anger parents and that it would backfire on the Liberals.
Infectious diseases physician Zain Chagala also criticized Del Duca’s proposal, citing National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) advice stating that it is essential to support parents’ decisions on vaccinating their kids against Covid.
NACI has also discouraged the stigmatization of parents who choose to or not to have their kids vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“Are we willing to accept some of our most marginalized kids out of school?” added Chagala.
Chagala also said that the politicizing of COVID-19 vaccination leads to “no good,” sharing an article which states that the politicization of vaccines has led to more hesitancy. “We need to keep encouraging proactive vaccines rather than pushing people away with mandates”.
According to government data, only 41% of Canadian kids aged 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Politicized Covid measures in education settings have also led to chaos and backlash in schools across the United States, with multiple videos showing heated moments at school board meetings.
The State of California had previously announced a mandatory vaccination policy for its students but has since opted to delay the mandate.
The Ford government previously opted not to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for educators, with education minister Stephen Lecce saying in October such a move could lead to 50,000 teachers being fired.
The Ontario PC Party party has not publicly responded to Del Duca’s proposal and did not respond to True North’s request for comment by time of publication.
Along with mandatory vaccinations, Del Duca’s other education policies include bringing back “Grade 13” for a limited time. The extra year of high school – known officially as the Ontario Academic Credit – was phased out in 2003.
On Monday, the Ontario Liberals unveiled its platform which pledges billions in new spending for affordable housing, subsidized transit and an end to for-profit long-term care.
The 2022 Ontario general election will take place on Jun. 2.
