Dear Premier Ford,
 
We the parents of school aged children, require the resolving of in-person learning and extra-curricular activities.
 
As a mother of two teenage girls, educator, advocate of healthy living, I have witnessed the deplorable impact that lockdowns have had on my children, Ontarian children and their families. Prohibiting the children from social interactions has been damaging for their development and will affect their capacity to function and become mature citizens.

Surely you are aware that many professionals in the pediatric departments here in Ontario are giving clear warnings concerning children's mental health.

From the CBC News article "Teens feeling disconnected, hopeless due to Covid-19 raises alarm for parents, experts  Read More 

“In the spring, SickKids brought together four leading child mental health research teams to understand how COVID-19 emergency measures have affected the mental health and wellbeing of children and families. Now, they are able to share preliminary findings from their ongoing study. 70 per cent of children and youth surveyed reported worse mental health during the initial spring lockdowns. Greater stress from social isolation was the most significant risk factor for worse mental health. The study team says safe social interactions are critical for mental health during COVID-19 waves.”

"Youth feel alone. And it's kind of hard to have that conversation or even to bring it up … because it feels like they shouldn't be alone. They get to talk to their classmates five days a week on Zoom in the classroom. They can call their friends. They get to be with their family, but it's just not the same."
 
An open letter signed by more than 100 Canadian doctors, including some of the country’s top pediatric experts, is calling on provincial governments across the country to reopen schools and to keep them open.
 
The letter is being sent to all premiers and ministers of education and health. It decries how various pandemic restrictions, especially school closures, “stop our children from reaching their full potential and harm their health (physical and mental) and general well-being”.
 
The letter continues: “This is particularly unnecessary considering that the data consistently shows that the risk of transmission in schools is low, even when community transmission is high. To that end, keeping schools open is the safest option, not only for the overall health and well-being of children, but also for society at large now and in the future.”
 
It also includes pediatric experts from hospitals such as the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and CHU Sainte-Justine (The Mother and Child Hospital of Montreal), medical professors from universities across the country, as well as surgeons, ER doctors and family physicians.
 
“Schools should remain open for face-to-face learning (at least as an option) unless there is high quality evidence to show that doing otherwise is more dangerous for the overall physical and mental health of children,” argues the letter.
 
Open schools, says open letter from more than 100 Canadian doctors | Toronto Sun | Read More
 
Toronto's SickKids hospital is projecting that roughly 30 per cent more children with eating disorders will be admitted this fiscal year. DOUG IVES/THE CANADIAN PRESS
 
More children and teens are suffering from eating disorders than ever before, according to Canada’s largest pediatric hospital, as social isolation caused by school disruptions and limits on extracurricular activities takes a toll.
 
‘Shadow pandemic’ of young people with eating disorders a challenge for health networks to treat | The Globe and Mail | Read More
 
Pediatricians raise alarm bells about impact of pandemic on kids
 
“This is really taking its toll.” Elizabeth Payne April 21, 2021
 
When schools are open, children are able to get more support. When they close, physicians such as Zwicker, Liddle and Dr. Andrzej Rochowski, chief of pediatrics at Queensway Carleton Hospital, see a surge in mental health disorders within their practices.
 
“We are the doorkeepers. We are the ones who keep children from coming to CHEO. What CHEO is seeing is the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we see in our practices,” said Rochowski, who mainly treats children under the age of about six. Read more

KINGSTON, ONT. -- Parents and medical health experts in Kingston have launched a new petition, calling on the Ontario government to return to a more regional approach to reopening under COVID-19. They say the mental health crisis is worsening amongst kids, and schools should reopen in areas where case numbers are low, so that students can get back to socializing in a COVID-safe environment. The group also says more power should be given to local medical officers of health to decide what should be open and closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, including schools.
Read more

Here is what a student from Ottawa has to say about this situation: 

 "As a teen living through these turbulent times of constant lockdowns and reopening. I think it is important that the government understands what I and many teens like me are going through. When the government flip-flops on its school reopening policy it leaves me and millions of students like me all over Ontario in great mental and physical distress adding to the other effects of social deprivation resulting from social distancing. So I ask that you listen to the youth and keep our well-being in mind when the government wants to implement a new school closure policy because we are the ones that have to suffer the consequences."
 
Description:
1. Children are struggling with remote learning which adversely effects their health and mental health.
2. Children are exhibiting increased signs of anxiety and depression.
3. Children’s academic skills are regressing.
4. Children are at risk of developing eating disorders.
5. Children are struggling with suicidal thoughts.
6. Children’s lack of in-person education and inter-personal activities have prohibited their development of social and inter-personal skills.
7. Parents are struggling to balance home, work and family responsibilities                      which damages the family unit.
 
Children and families are suffering and need to return to a regular schedule with in-person learning, in-person extra-curricular activities. As most health protocols set up within those activities have shown a high level of success and not shown to be a source of spread whereas the risk of illness or adverse effects of Covid-19 is significantly lower to children than adults.
 
We, in signing this petition, require that the in-class learning and the in-person extra-curricular activities be resolved immediately.