University of Toronto receives D grade on reopening plan from one of its leading scientists

August 25, 2020
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CBC News

The University of Toronto received a "D" grade on its current reopening plan from one of its top epidemiologists at a virtual union meeting Monday night. 

More than 350 participants joined the online event put on by the University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) and other major campus unions to discuss the university's current plan to reopen. The event featured a panel of several of the university's scientists and professors.

Dr. David Fisman, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health and one of the panel speakers, gave the university's back-to-school plan the almost-failing grade.

"As an institution that prides itself on the quality of our research, it is critically important that we get the re-opening strategy right and that it be based on the best scientific evidence that we have," said Fisman.

Some of the unions' concerns include the university administration's refusal to meet with the UTFA for discussion or to listen to the institution's own experts. 

"It is extraordinary that the World Health Organization, provincial and federal governments and departments of public health rely on advice from our Dalla Lana School of Public Health scientists yet the University of Toronto's administration is systematically ignoring these same experts," said Terezia Zoric, the president of UTFA.

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