back-to-in-class learning for the majority of remote First Nations students across Ontario due to limited access to, N95 masks, HEPA filters and rapid antigen tests, all items promised by the Ford government to the province’s other schools.Students in the province resumed classes after the holidays via online learning in an effort to curb surging COVID-19 cases.
With new safety measures in place, Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced students would return to in-class learning on Jan.
17.“Does that mean our First Nations schools as well? Within the remote north of this province? Because to tell you the truth we haven’t seen anything yet.
It’s just looking for that equitable access to many of those resources that every other school in the province has access to,” explains Bobby Narcisse, the Deputy Grand Chief who represents the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. ‘People are crying on the phone’: Indigenous communities grapple with PPE shortages Nishnawbe Aski Nation is made up of 49 First Nations, 34 of which are remote northern communities.