Ontario Parents Launch Go Fund Me Campaign to Fund Court Challenge for Better COVID-19 Protections in Schools
(Ontario, Canada, September 14–) A group of Ontario parents has launched a Go Fund Me campaign to raise the necessary funds for a court challenge with the aim of securing better COVID-19 protections in Ontario’s schools.
Ontario School Safety is a newly-formed group of committed volunteers that is working to raise funds and awareness to make Ontario’s schools safer for all students. The group includes physicians, lawyers, epidemiologists, educators, business owners, academics, and concerned parents who bring their expertise, skills, and passion to the project.
The primary goal of Ontario School Safety is to mount a court challenge that will demonstrate that schools have failed in their duty to protect Ontario’s students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and that COVID-19 protections are both necessary and required under the law. The group has launched a Go Fund Me campaign to cover all legal and administrative fees that will arise as the case goes to trial. Ontario School Safety is also seeking to connect with families who believe that their experiences of inequity and hardship due to the lack of COVID-19 protections in Ontario’s schools might be relevant to the court challenge.
Initiated on September 8th, the GoFundMe campaign for Ontario School Safety emphasizes that Ontario parents have had enough. Organizers are amplifying the message of Ontario parents who want all kids to have a successful, healthy and uninterrupted school year. They assert that, given the ongoing pandemic, this can only happen when COVID-19 protections are in place. The campaign page highlights how Ontario’s students are uniquely vulnerable due to low vaccine uptake, lack of treatment options, limited testing, and, most glaringly, the removal of simple and cost-effective COVID-19 protections in schools, such as mask mandates. The page also notes that Ontario’s children are vulnerable to COVID-19, that its impacts are often not “mild”, and that long-term damage due to infection is a possibility.
The goal for the campaign has been set at $75,000. Once funds have been raised and the legal team has been finalized, this case will be filed before the courts as soon as possible. Ontario School Safety believes that Ontario’s students deserve safe and inclusive learning environments. It is the goal of Ontario School Safety to achieve a return of COVID-19 protections for as long as the science and data indicate they are necessary so that all students can exercise their right to attend Ontario’s schools safely.
Contact Information
Twitter: @ONSchoolSafety