Alberta NDP Critic for Education Sarah Hoffman made the following statement regarding Calgary and area junior and high school students moving to online learning due to the third wave of COVID-19:

“Today, only hours after Jason Kenney told Albertans that less than one per cent of students had been affected by the third wave of COVID-19, both Calgary school boards announced they will close their schools to students in Grade 7 through 12, sending more than 80,000 students home causing stress and frustration for families. I understand several other boards are on the brink of a similar decision.

“Jason Kenney clearly doesn’t have any idea what’s happening inside Alberta classrooms or communities. He has failed to give Alberta schools the resources they need to keep classrooms safe. The reasons the UCP gave for moving these students are exactly the factors we warned them about. Staff shortages, school closures, too many students in isolation, and community spread. All of these problems were foreseeable months ago, and Jason Kenney did nothing.

“My heart goes out to the families who are trying to figure out how to make this work for the third time. I respect the decisions by these boards to take action to keep their students, staff, and families safe. But make no mistake, Jason Kenney’s weak and ineffective leadership led to this third closure of Alberta schools.”