The leader of the province’s New Democrats doesn’t have much confidence in the back-to-school plan presented on Thursday, and based on feedback he’s received, a “significant” number of parents and teachers don’t have confidence in it either.

K-12 students across the province head back to the classroom on Tuesday after about three weeks of virtual learning to start the year.

Jim Dinn, who is a former school teacher himself, says at the briefing officials stated that they want to pull out all the stops to make sure kids are safe in the classroom—he wants the province do more.

Take bussing for example. He says last year government provided extra busses to allow for distancing, but that has been taken away.

He calls physical distancing in schools a “myth,” noting that kids will be packed on the bus, driven to school and into their cohorts, only to be put back onto a packed bus at the end of the day. He says bussing measures would have said to him that government is pulling out all the stops.

As well, he says government still hasn’t addressed the issue of ventilation in schools, and he hasn’t heard any confidence on the issue of masks and the provision of them.