Parents wary about student return to class: poll

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Canadians are torn over the possible return of students to school with a majority fearing for young people’s general well-being if they don’t and COVID-19 if they do, a new poll shows.

The Maru/Blue Public Opinion poll found that 64% of Canadians, including 68% with children, and 60% of Ontarians believe it’s time that children head back to the classroom.

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Schools were one of the first institutions to shut their doors after governments in Canada identified the COVID-19 pandemic.

Almost seven in 10 parents polled see this time away from a learning and social environment as damaging to their children’s mental health and “ability to grow up properly,” the poll revealed.

And 58% of the Canadian public, including 54% of Ontarians, say schools need to open in September so adults can return to work or “get a break from their kids,” the poll says.

However, 52% of Canadians and 54% of Ontarians also agreed with the separate statement that children should not return to school because they might contract COVID-19.

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John Wright, executive vice-president of Maru/Blue Public Opinion, said the results illustrate the dilemma faced by parents as September looms.

“We’re talking about little children here and young people who don’t know social distancing,” Wright said Tuesday. “Parents are wary.”

The majority of Canadians polled say their schools have adequate measures in place to ensure a safe and healthy environment for students.

More than six in 10 people polled agreed that school boards had done a good job getting ready for reopenings.

The poll also found that 66% of Canadians, and 59% of Ontarians, think the teacher unions and their members are providing leadership for school reopenings.

The pollster found that 58% of Canadians — 49% of Ontarians — think the provincial government has also done well in planning for the return of school in the fall.

Yet about three-quarters of those polled, including 73% from Ontario, want their provincial government to put more money into the school system to help the facilities accommodate the impact of the pandemic, according to the poll.

The majority generally supported more money for schools even if it drove up the size of the provincial deficit.

The Maru/BLUE Public Opening poll surveyed 1,519 Canadian adults from its online panel between July 17-20, and the results are considered nationally accurate within 3.5%.

aartuso@postmedia.com