#stephen lecce

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Ontario will not require masks in schools this fall despite uptick in COVID cases

The Ontario Ministry of Education will not mandate mask-wearing when students return to class this fall, Education Minister Stephen Lecce ha

The Ontario Ministry of Education will not mandate mask-wearing when students return to class this fall, Education Minister Stephen Lecce has confirmed.

“As is the case with every jurisdiction in Canada, masks will not be required in Ontario schools,” he said in an emailed statement to CP24. “We have taken significant action to improve ventilation in every single school, deploying 100,000 HEPA filter units and improving mechanical ventilation using the highest MERV-13 quality filters.”

[...]

Lecce’s statement comes as Ontario enters a possible new wave of the coronavirus pandemic, due in large part to BA.2.86, a highly mutated new variant of the virus. As well, recent wastewater monitoring shows an uptick in the virus compared to an all-time low in Ontario in June of this year.

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Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[onpoli]

Ontario’s new career studies curriculum for Grade 10 will include learning about financial literacy, including having students make a plan to fund their first year after high school.

Ontario’s new career studies curriculum for Grade 10 will include learning about financial literacy, including having students make a plan to fund their first year after high school.

The province’s new education minister, Stephen Lecce, unveiled the updated curriculum Tuesday at Toronto’s York University.

Lecce says the mandatory course will focus on “monetizable skills” and the jobs of the future, such as those in science, technology, engineering and math.

He says it will also teach students about the workplace implications of social media and how to protect their privacy online.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Ontario government, secondary school teachers' union agree to process to avoid strike

The Ontario government has announced it will enter a process with the province’s secondary school teachers’ union to avoid strikes and keep

The Ontario government has announced it will enter a process with the province’s secondary school teachers’ union to avoid strikes and keep kids in school, pending a vote by members.

“This tentative agreement sets out a period of time to continue negotiating in good faith,” Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said at a Friday news conference. “If a negotiated agreement can't be reached, the parties will enter into binding interest arbitration, which is a fair and reasonable approach to resolve all outstanding issues.”

In a news release issued prior to Lecce’s remarks, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) said its bargaining unit presidents and chief negotiators voted “overwhelmingly” to enter the process on Friday.

[...]

The OSSTF said it will now begin preparations to hold a vote for its 60,000 members through September on entering the process.

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Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Ontario education minister accused of scrubbing social media of critical comments

"It’s definitely censorship. He’s silencing the voices of the people he is supposed to serve and represent in government. It’s not OK."

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce is again under fire for allegedly scrubbing his social media accounts of critical comments related to government policy and his performance as a cabinet minister.

The story comes just shy of a year after Global News first published a similar report. At the time, Lecce’s office defended restricting comments by stating the remarks contained abusive, offensive and threatening language.

Since Lecce recently announced a postponement of the March break to April, social media sites like Twitter and Instagram have had hundreds of users allege their comments have been scrubbed.

Global News has been directly in touch with several social media users that claim they are amongst those that had comments disappear.

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Tagging: @politicsofcanada @onpoli

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Angry Parent Featured in Toronto Sun Article Criticizing Teachers Has Ties to Doug Ford’s Education Minister

The Toronto Sun portrayed a man with ties to Doug Ford's education minister as an ordinary parent held 'hostage' by teachers

It turns out an angry parent recently featured in a Toronto Sun article criticizing teachers for “holding our children hostage” has cozy ties with Doug Ford’s education minister, Stephen Lecce.

In an article published January 15 titled “Teachers must stop holding students hostage,” the Sun’s Joe Warmington told the story of Paul Greco, portrayed as an ordinary “father of two young kids” from Schomberg, Ontario.

“Paul Greco doesn’t have the luxury of being a cheerleader for teachers’ hard-line tactics which are designed to bully the government into surrendering to their every demand,” Warmington wrote.

Warmington added that Greco is “living in the real world.”

“Lecce is doing what’s right for the taxpayers,” Greco is quoted saying.

What Warmington didn’t mention is that the “Schomberg family man” also appears to have close ties to Education Minister Stephen Lecce.

Social media postings reviewed by PressProgress show Greco has partied with Lecce and even organized photo-ops for the education minister too.

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Tagging: @abpoli @politicsofcanada @torontopoli @onpoli

[terriwriting]

Ontario government announces plan to blame the feds if school reopening plan goes wrong

TORONTO - The Ontario government announced its new plan to blame the federal government in the event that their plan to reopen schools during a pandemic backfires.