TORONTO -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hasn鈥檛 decided yet whether his children will be returning to school in September, as schools prepare to handle a return to physical operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a press conference to announce the prorogation of Parliament, the prime minister was asked whether he planned to send his children to school this coming fall -- a question that parents across Canada have been wrestling with.
And Trudeau鈥檚 answer was far from a confident 鈥測es鈥 or a definitive 鈥渘o.鈥
鈥淟ike so many parents, that鈥檚 something that we are in very active discussions on,鈥 he said.
鈥淎s a federal government, we will be there to support the provinces as they really make important decisions to ensure that all our kids have the opportunity to be safe as the school year starts up. But I know that lots of parents are going to be watching carefully what their local school and schoolboard鈥檚 plans are going to be. And there is a lot of reflection in a lot of households, including mine, as to what鈥檚 going to happen when September rolls around.鈥
Trudeau鈥檚 three children attend public school in Ontario. The province has faced criticism from parents and teachers鈥 unions since they unveiled their back to , with critics saying there should be smaller class sizes to ensure for more physical distancing, among other issues.
On Monday, the Ontario government rejected a new proposal , the Toronto District School Board, which would have reduced the average size of classrooms and required the hiring of 200 additional teachers.
Ontario鈥檚 Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams, has given the province鈥檚 plan his stamp of approval, but 鈥渘o such thing as a totally risk-free setting.鈥
In his comments Tuesday, Trudeau emphasized that there were many factors his family were considering in order to decide whether to send the kids back to school.
鈥淲e are looking at what the school鈥檚 plans are, we鈥檙e looking at class sizes, we鈥檙e looking at how the kids are feeling about wearing masks,鈥 he said.
He said that his personal friends 鈥渁s parents, are asking these same questions.鈥
Trudeau has faced this question before, but with only weeks to go, it鈥檚 more prevalent than ever.
In May, , Trudeau said he didn鈥檛 know if he鈥檇 send his children back to school if they lived in Quebec. At the time, Quebec schools outside of Montreal were preparing to re-open on May 11.
He said in May that he would likely make his decision 鈥渁t the last minute.鈥