Close X
Saturday, September 21, 2024
ADVT 
National

Lawsuit to challenge Quebec back-to-school plan

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 17 Aug, 2020 08:21 PM
  • Lawsuit to challenge Quebec back-to-school plan

A group of parents are moving forward with a legal challenge aimed at forcing Quebec to offer remote learning services to families who don't want their children returning to classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic this fall, the lawyer representing them said Monday.

Julius Grey said the motion he'll file in Quebec Superior Court in the coming days will argue that requiring children to attend classes in person violates their parents' charter rights to make decisions that affect their health and safety.

"There are certain decisions that cannot be made by the government for people," Grey said in a phone interview.

"Of course the government can make basic curriculum decisions — for instance, people who wanted to protect their children from the study of science were always rebuffed — but they cannot make these fundamental decisions about life, death, security."

The province's back-to-school plan offers online learning services only if a child or someone in their household has a medical condition that puts them at risk of health complications due to COVID-19.

But children without a medical exemption will have to attend classes or be homeschooled, Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge repeated Monday.

"If (they) present a risk for health, of course we will help those kids to learn at home with the help of teachers and support staff," he told a news conference in Quebec City. "But if the kids don't have some sickness related to COVID-19, the best place is to go to school, of course."

On Monday, Roberge announced $20 million in funding aimed at temporarily hiring about 350 teachers and specialists who can help children who have fallen behind due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Politimi Karounis, a mother of two, is one of the parents involved in the lawsuit. She said Monday she believes the health measures in the government's plan are inadequate.

Sending her children to school "would mean my child is in a class for five or six hours a day, with 35 students, without a mask, without social distancing, when at home I can guarantee several basic security measures," she said in a phone interview.

"I believe parents, in this particular context, must have the choice to take decisions for the security of their families."

Grey said parents have many reasons for wanting to keep their children out of crowded classrooms, ranging from elderly grandparents or sick siblings at home, to simple anxiety.

He said many parents don't have the capacity to homeschool, and don't want to pull their children from their normal classes without a guarantee they'll be able to return next year.

Grey said the government is "clearly capable" of providing distance learning, since it is doing so for children who have health exemptions.

"They are providing Zoom education for those children who qualify under the narrow exemptions they have," he said. "There's no reason they wouldn't provide it for all those parents who, for better or worse, for good reason or bad reason, say they are not comfortable sending their child to school."

He says he'll seek an emergency hearing on the matter in the hopes of getting a decision in the next few weeks.

MORE National ARTICLES

Vancouver man pleads guilty to child pornography related charges

Vancouver man pleads guilty to child pornography related charges
A 68-year-old Vancouver man was sentenced this week after a Vancouver Police investigation into child pornography.

Vancouver man pleads guilty to child pornography related charges

'Queue jumpers' not welcome in B.C. as COVID-19 U.S. cases rise: B.C. premier

'Queue jumpers' not welcome in B.C. as COVID-19 U.S. cases rise: B.C. premier
British Columbia's premier has a message for Americans coming across the border on their way to Alaska: Do not stop in the province while COVID-19 cases continue rising in the United States.

'Queue jumpers' not welcome in B.C. as COVID-19 U.S. cases rise: B.C. premier

Psychiatrists, Ontario liable for patient abuse

Psychiatrists, Ontario liable for patient abuse
Two psychiatrists have been found liable for the harm they caused inmates at a maximum security mental-health facility, who said the mistreatment they endured amounted to torture.

Psychiatrists, Ontario liable for patient abuse

Tories ask watchdog to probe WE Charity deals

Tories ask watchdog to probe WE Charity deals
The Conservatives are asking the federal procurement watchdog to review the circumstances around several sole-sourced contracts between the Liberal government and WE Charity.

Tories ask watchdog to probe WE Charity deals

FN group rejects advice to reinstate Beyak

FN group rejects advice to reinstate Beyak
A coalition of First Nations chiefs and residential school survivors are rejecting new recommendations to lift Sen. Lynn Beyak's suspension from the Senate.

FN group rejects advice to reinstate Beyak

Mask mandates raise accessibility concerns

Mask mandates raise accessibility concerns
Experts and advocates say mandatory mask policies will only work if they're backed up by efforts to provide access and education to vulnerable populations.

Mask mandates raise accessibility concerns