Disrupting Notions of 'Choice': Missteps in Ontario’s COVID-19 Back-to-School Plan

Abstract

When schools shut down in Ontario during the COVID-19 Pandemic, many voices chimed in to discuss where children should be. However, children’s voices were largely missing from these discussions by virtue of being excluded by those in charge. Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), children are granted the right to express themselves, have that expression be taken seriously, and to be given information on matters that concern them. By conducting an analysis of the Ontario Government’s Back-to-School Plan and announcements, I argue that the developmental and economic framing of the decision to return to school denied children their expression rights guaranteed under the UN-CRC. The Ontario Government missed a vital opportunity to value children as full human beings with integral experiences. I conclude by arguing that it is imperative that the Government commits to using a rights-respecting approach to all policy and programming with potential to impact children or childhood.