Ontario lifts class size, distancing requirements in indoor post-secondary classrooms

Students walk across campus at Western University in London, Ont., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins

TORONTO -

Ontario has issued new guidance for post-secondary institutions that lifts distancing and capacity rules for most classrooms.

The memo sent out to colleges and universities shows staff and students will still have to wear masks indoors.

It marks a shift from current legislation -- which will be amended -- that caps indoor classroom capacity at either 50 per cent or 1,000 students, and mandates physical distancing.

But the province is sticking with the language in the existing regulations when it comes to outdoor learning, which sets the capacity of outdoor instructional space at 75 per cent or 15,000 people.

The memo from the deputy minister of colleges and universities also says schools must have a vaccination policy in place on or before Sept. 7.

The provincial guidance is already facing pushback from a group that represents faculty unions.

The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations says lifting class size limits puts students and instructors at greater risk of COVID-19, even with vaccination policies in place.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 1, 2021.