Leaders from CUPE's Ontario University Sector claim students and staff in packed classrooms face higher COVID-19 risks.
A union representing the province's college and university campuses is asking the Ontario government to implement distancing requirements and class capacity limits for post-secondary schools.
Earlier this month, the province announced distancing and class caps wouldn't be necessary when in-person learning returns to post-secondary institutions.
This morning, leaders from CUPE Ontario's University Sector held a press conference, saying the rise of the Delta variant poses a threat to staff and students in crowded classrooms and labs.
"If it is clear to the Ford Conservatives that a mandatory vaccination policy alone is simply not enough to protect us in a movie theatre, why is it not clear to them that the same is true in a lecture hall?" asked CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. "They know better and it’s so unconscionable that the province would remove critical measures like capacity limits and physical distancing requirements for indoor instructional spaces, like classrooms and labs. We need these measures in place immediately to keep students and the 30,000 CUPE Ontario support and academic workers on campuses safe."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Colleges and Universities says schools are able to institute stricter rules of their own.
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