RNAO‘s top priority in August was to urge the provincial government to mandate vaccination for health-care workers, teachers and education staff, as well as implement vaccine passports  for all eligible Ontarians. Our media activity reflects that purpose. The announcement of a vaccine certificate system on Sept. 1 demonstrates the power of speaking out.

RNAO issued the following media release upon announcement of the Ontario government’s plan for reopening of schools on August 3, 2021.

This month, RNAO spoke out on a number of prominent issues in the media including COVID-19 vaccinations, the province’s reopening framework, the ineffectiveness of signing bonuses for new staff, the urgency to repeal Bill 124, and the welcoming of Ontario’s new Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore.

There is little doubt that school reopening in September is one of the most crucial policy decisions in terms of the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario and everywhere else. Ontario has about two million school age children and 160,000 teachers – those are huge numbers.