Posted on Sep 14, 2020

LAGRANGE STILL HIDING FROM MEDIA AS SCHOOL CASES CLIMB

EDMONTON - Education Minister Adriana LaGrange must emerge from hiding today and answer eight key questions about her mishandling of school re-entry.

There are 48 schools with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alberta, and six with multiple cases, but LaGrange has refused to attend any of Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s daily updates since school resumed, sending her deputy minister instead.

“It’s an abject failure of leadership for the Education Minister to hide from scrutiny during the most challenging back-to-school season in living memory,” said Sarah Hoffman, NDP Official Opposition Critic for Education. “LaGrange needs to answer the questions that Alberta families are asking about her failure to provide schools with the resources they need to keep everyone safe.”

These are the eight most pressing questions for LaGrange to answer.

 

  • Why has she failed to appear at any daily updates during back-to-school when she has time for photo-ops and partisan events?
  • Has the minister seen the videos of packed hallways in Calgary high schools, and what has she done in response?
  • Has the minister visited any schools to see real conditions in actual classrooms?
  • What is the total number of Alberta schools with confirmed cases, including small sites that cannot be disclosed by name for privacy reasons?
  • When will the Government of Alberta website provide real-time, single-case-level reporting to the level of volunteer-run non-profit groups?
  • Is she aware that some schools are still reporting that they don’t have any of the government-issued PPE?
  • Can the minister provide an update on the inventory levels and distribution of masks and hand sanitizer to schools? 
  • When will the minister cap class sizes at 15, and act on the other recommendations of the Safe Schools, Successful Students report?

 

“Albertans have a right to hold elected officials accountable,” said Hoffman. “Adriana LaGrange must appear at the daily update today and defend the choices she made which left school communities unsafe.”