Dear Editor:
An open letter to Peter Sovran, director of education with the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB).
I would like to thank you for responding to my Jan. 17 letter to the UGDSB. Based on the responses you provided me, I am understanding the following:
1. Board staff do not disturb the individual packaging of the sealed components, despite (in your words) “disturbing the seal on the manufacturer’s box.” However, staff of the UGDSB still handles the individual packaging of both sealed and non-sealed components.
2. The UGDSB cannot comment on the applicability (or not) of the federal regulations that I referred to in my Jan. 17 letter.
3. The UGDSB staff involved in handling the components of the tests wear board issued personal protective equipment (PPE) – including masks and gloves, completed daily COVID-19 screening, and have received training on the proper use of mask handing and hand-hygiene.
Mr. Sovran, what you have said to me in your response is that:
– the UGDSB is tampering with a sealed Class IV medical device;
– the UGDSB cannot guarantee contaminants have not been added to the components of the tests;
– the UGDSB does not know if their handling, repackaging and redistribution process of the tests is in accordance with federal laws.
The optics are that your board (under the direction of the Ministry of Education) is carrying out these directives without properly investigating and weighing the laws surrounding such actions. Simply put, these directives do not seem to support the health and safety of our children … especially when you have members of the UGDSB not adhering to the very training you have set forth surrounding handling of the test components and PPE.
The board’s actions, and justification of those actions, continue to fall extremely short of providing public confidence.
Paul Johnson,
Ariss