Close Alert Banner
Skip to Content

Hospital

ResearchFoundation

Text Resize

Regular Large X-Large

Colour Contrast

Default High

Accessible formats and communication supports are available, please contact accessibility@cheo.on.ca

View Our Accessibility Plan

CareersContact UsWebsite FeedbackMyChart
FR
Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario Logo
Contact Us
  • Visiting CHEO
    • Accessibility
    • Amenities
    • Cold and flu season
    • COVID-19
    • Emergency care
    • Family and caregiver supports
    • Family-Centred Rounds
    • Find your doctor
    • Health Records
    • Maps and locations
    • Parking
    • Pay your bill
    • Pharmacy (Kidcare)
    • Preparing for your stay or visit
    • Visiting hours and policies
    View our Physician directory page
    Find Your Doctor Directory
  • Clinics, Services & Programs
    • Directory
    • Emergency care
    • IR/Cath and Sim Labs
    • Make a referral
    • Mental health
    • School
    • Surgical care
    • Technology Enabling Child Health Innovations (TECHi)
    • Virtual care
  • Resources and Support
    • A-Z resources
    • Community supports
    • Families First newsletter
    • Family and caregiver supports
    • Indigeneity - Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, Social justice
    • Patient Experience
    • Reads2CHEO
    • Transition to adult care
  • Get Involved
    • Co-op program
    • Donate
    • Family Advisory Council
    • Feedback
    • Share your voice
    • Volunteer
    • YouthNet
  • About Us
    • 1Door4Care
    • About CHEO
    • Advocacy
    • Awards, Accreditations and Designations
    • Blog
    • Careers
    • Contact us
    • Disclaimer
    • Find your doctor
    • For community physicians
    • For learners, students and residents
    • For pharmacists
    • Indigeneity - Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, Social justice
    • Innovation
    • Kids Come First
    • Leadership
    • Newsroom
    • Partners
    • Privacy and confidentiality
    • Reporting and statistics
    • Research and innovation
    • Social media terms of use
    • Strategy Renewal

Children’s Health Coalition Statement

A young girl in a winter coat, smiling at the camera

Regular Large X-Large
 
  • Open new window to share this page via Facebook Facebook
  • Open new window to share this page via LinkedIn LinkedIn
  • Open new window to share this page via Twitter Twitter
  • Email this page Email
Email iconSubscribe to News

Contact us

Receive Email Updates...
Email icon Back to Search

TORONTO, April 6, 2021 – Schools are closing and more may shut down in-person learning because we haven’t been able to contain community transmission of coronavirus in Ontario. Collectively, we have failed our children.

We are calling on the government to recognize the hardship kids and families will face and do everything in their power to re-open schools where they have closed as soon as possible and save the school year.

As leaders in children’s health care, we believe that schools should be the last to close and the first to open. We know that long-term school closures can seriously harm the learning, mental health and development of children. Children who face the most harm from the loss of in-person learning are often also those most at risk: children from racialized communities, low-income families, children with disabilities, children with mental illness and children with learning difficulties.

At the same time, we fully recognize that schools, above all, must be safe learning environments. We have known all along that the greatest threat to safety in our schools comes from outside their walls.

That is why the Children’s Health Coalition is joining the Ontario Hospital Association, the Ontario Medical Association, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario and others in calling on the government to put in place enhanced measures to urgently reverse the trend in community transmission and respond to the crisis in adult critical care, while better protecting children from the overall harmful impacts of the pandemic. The measures that we are immediately advocating for include, but are not limited to:

  • The strictest measures to be put in place to reduce community spread and reverse the trend, including paid sick days for essential workers.
  • Refocus our vaccine strategy on prioritizing essential workers in hot spot neighbourhoods, including teachers and early childhood educators, other education staff and caregivers of kids with serious illness or chronic conditions.
  • Ramp up efforts to ensure strong infection prevention and control strategies, partnered with robust testing, tracing and prioritization of the highest risk communities.
  • Put in place supports to minimize the negative impact of school closures on the education, health and well-being of all children across the socio-economic spectrum with a health equity lens.
  • A provincial campaign to improve vaccine confidence and increase uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, especially for those who have been disproportionately impacted.

Ending in-person learning should only be done as a last resort and will be ineffective if not accompanied by other stricter measures that include things like the paid sick days for essential workers, closure of non-essential retail businesses and where possible, sending all staff to work from home.

Parents, caregivers and families deserve a safe place to send their children for school. When schools are closing, they need that information as soon as possible to plan accordingly.

The need for action is urgent. If we don’t act swiftly to protect schools, education workers and students, we may have no choice but to face another long-term school closure, which can have devastating and long-term impacts on children, youth and families.

-30-

 

About the Children's Health Coalition

The Children's Health Coalition is a growing collective of children's health organizations, including CHEO, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, SickKids, McMaster Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital – London Health Sciences Centre, Children’s Mental Health Ontario and Empowered Kids Ontario.

Dr. Ronald Cohn, President and CEO of The Hospital for Sick Children

Julia Hanigsberg, President and CEO, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Alex Munter, President and Chief Executive Officer, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Bruce Squires, President, McMaster Children's Hospital and VP, Women's & Children's Health, Hamilton Health Sciences

Jatinder Bains, VP of Children’s Hospital and Women’s Programs, London Health Sciences Centre

Jennifer Churchill, Chief Executive Officer, Empowered Kids Ontario

Kimberly Moran, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Mental Health Ontario

For more information, please contact:

Jessica Behnke, jbehnke@cmho.org, 647-400-9208

Kathleen Powderley, Kathleen@responsiblecomm.ca, 416-803-5597

CHEO

  • Visiting CHEO
  • Clinics, Services & Programs
  • Resources and Support
  • Get Involved
  • About Us

Contact Us

CHEO
401 Smyth Road
Ottawa ON K1H 8L1
Phone: 613-737-7600
Email Us

 

Connect with us

View our Facebook Page View our Twitter Page View our Instagram Page View our YouTube Page View our LinkedIn Page

Sign up for our newsletter

twitter:1248b279-93aa-4ec9-8398-fb5ed28a6413

Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario logo

Copyright 2021 CHEO.

By GHD Digital
  • Sitemap
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy and confidentiality
  • Website Feedback
  • Contact Us

Staff Portal

Close Old Browser Notification
Browser Compatibility Notification
It appears you are trying to access this site using an outdated browser. As a result, parts of the site may not function properly for you. We recommend updating your browser to its most recent version at your earliest convenience.