Parent-led Legal Action Against School Closures

The money has been raised by Ontario Families Coalition, an alliance of parents, led by founder Brownen Alsop and established in the summer of 2020 to advocate for open schools in the face of persistent and prolonged closures of Ontario elementary and secondary schools starting in March 2020. 

 

The funds raised are being used to pay legal fees actually incurred by the Coalition in connection with a retainer letter with Henein Hutchison LLP, one of Canada’s leading constitutional law firms. The scope of the engagement of this law firm included: preparation of a full constitutional application, witness and expert interviews, legal research, preparation of a Notice of Application, and other related advice. The goal of this legal action was the immediate return of Ontario students to in-person learning. A letter outlining the legal action was delivered to the Premier of Ontario on January 12, 2021 – the same date that the Minister of Education announced that in-person learning was set to begin on January 17, 2021.

 

The funds raised and withdrawn to date are being directed exclusively to our lawyers on account of their actual fees incurred. Ontario’s students plan to be back to in-person learning the week of January 17th(weather dependant) – so we will be closing our fundraiser for now.

 

Thanks to the funds contributed to date, the Coalition remains ready to initiate this legal action should the government again backtrack on its school re-opening plans. We remain committed to ensuring that the interests of children receive the highest priority in pandemic decision-making, and that school closing is no longer seen as an acceptable policy response.