Local dad launches website aimed at getting kids back in the classroom

With kids back to school online only, a local parent has set up a website aimed at trying to convince the province to bring them back to the classroom.

The website is pretty self-explanatory.

Backtoschoolontario.ca is asking for exactly that: for Ontario kids to be back in school.

“The risks to children are extremely low at this point and far below the background risks we face and accept every single day when, as parents, we send our kids off into the world,” said Stephen Lake, who launched the website. “So at this point, I have no worries as a parent in terms of the direct risk to children of being in school at this point.”

Lake is clear, he's not saying there isn't more that could be done to make schools safer, but added that doesn't necessarily mean schools are unsafe either.

“There's always more and we can and should do more, but I don't think that should be a barrier to sending our kids back to school,” Lake said. “What we're going to add in the next two weeks or four weeks is not going to materially have an impact on the safety of children.”

“I think we have with the variant right now that's contagious enough that, realistically, those that haven't already in the last eight weeks gotten [COVID-19], will at some point in the near future,” he said.

Lake said he, and others like him, are also frustrated schools were one of the first things on the provincial chopping block.

“I think we need to focus on prioritizing children first, there are other things and actions we could take if we do have concerns about the healthcare system and loads,” Lake said.

“We've kept many things open that could be much further down the list of things to cut than schools.”

As of early Thursday afternoon, Lake said roughly 70,000 people had submitted their information to the website.