Across Ontario, schoolchildren are facing increasing pressure from local medical officers of health, who are leveraging the threat of suspension to force parents into revealing personal, private medical information. This disturbing trend is resulting in more parents becoming concerned about privacy rights, parental authority, and the boundaries between public health and education.

The issue begins with the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA), which requires students to be vaccinated for certain "designated diseases" unless an exemption is provided. This exemption, however, has alarming verbiage in a legally binding affidavit and mandates the submission of personal health records into Ontario’s Panorama digital database — a system which is vulnerable to data breaches, hacks, and leaks, with health data being big business.

Parents are being coerced by public health to submit their children’s sensitive health information to avoid suspension, even though ISPA doesn’t grant medical officers of health (MOHs) the authority to impose such penalties directly.

When a student is suspended under the ISPA, the principal must still follow the rules of the Education Act, which requires a valid reason for suspension. However, current suspensions for "non-compliance" with health record submission — lasting up to 20 days — are highly questionable, as these penalties are typically reserved for more serious offenses, such as assault with a weapon or drug trafficking. The situation grows more concerning when one considers the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA), which stipulates that health data must not be collected through coercion or deception.

One such instance has come to light through the experience of Cristina Fernandes, a concerned parent within the Waterloo District School Board. Fernandes shared her journey of navigating suspension orders related to public health mandates in March 2024, even after she expressed that there were no changes to her children’s medical records. Despite her efforts to resolve the issue and prevent the suspension, Fernandes’ children were segregated from their classrooms and excluded until she complied with the public health orders, which she says turned her children into "pawns" to force her compliance.

Fernandes’ attempts to communicate with school authorities about the issue, including escalating her concerns to the superintendent before the suspension deadline, proved futile. Eventually, her children were placed in a segregated space, excluded from their regular classes, until the matter was resolved through strategic civil disobedience, resulting in a full return to the classroom for her children without having to re-issue her children's private medical information. 

“It’s not a school issue,” says Fernandes. “It’s not something that schools should be involved in. They’re there for facilitating education, for ensuring access to classrooms. They’re not there to work for public health and that’s ultimately what’s happening here. It’s two separate lanes and they ought to be.”

Through this ordeal, Fernandes has drawn attention to the growing overreach of public health into the educational system, where coercion and privacy violations are becoming more common. The emotional toll this situation took on her family highlights the urgent need for clearer legislation, better communication, and stronger protections for personal medical information.

Her story serves as a stark reminder that parental rights and privacy must not be sacrificed for the sake of public health mandates. As the situation unfolds, it underscores the need for proper boundaries between public health policies and the autonomy of families in the educational system.

Join our campaign to educate parents about their rights and how to protect their kids!

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Join the movement to protect children's privacy and education in Ontario, as public health authorities threaten school suspensions unless parents disclose private medical information. Sign up to stay informed, get updates, and learn how you can help safeguard children's rights in the face of coercive data collection practices.

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