Thousands of face shields to be donated to Alberta teachers
Posted August 18, 2020 12:45 pm.
Last Updated August 19, 2020 4:19 pm.
EDMONTON (660 NEWS) – An Ontario company is donating thousands of face shields to Alberta teachers.
The Canadian Shield, based in Waterloo, said it’s providing 112,000 shields to the Ministry of Education to be given to teachers and other staff to protect them from exposure to COVID-19.
“We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Alberta’s Ministry of Education to offer our face shields to teachers and educators across the province,” said The Canadian Shield President Jeremy Hedges. “We want to make sure that every teacher going back to the classroom this fall has a Canadian Shield to keep them safe.”
The manufacturer has been sending protective gear to hospitals and healthcare providers across Canada since the beginning of March.
The shields can be sanitized and reused up to 15 times.
From ed-tech to PPE, we wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of Canadian school boards, teachers and educators. That’s why we're donating 750,000 face shields to Ministries of Education across the country to protect teachers and students: https://t.co/8qUVmclufG
— The Canadian Shield (@canshieldppe) July 29, 2020
“On behalf of Alberta’s government, I want to thank the Canadian Shield for their generous donation of 112,000 face shields for Alberta teachers, of which, 46,000 were donated directly to First Nation school authorities,” said Education Minister Adriana LaGrange.
“This donation, combined with our own supply of face shields for non-teaching staff, sanitizer, and reusable face-masks will help ensure Alberta’s schools receive the PPE they need for a successful return to school.”
“We are so appreciative of the help we received from school boards and organizations across Canada when we first launched The Canadian Shield,” added Hedges.
“This is our way of giving back to the community and supporting Canadian educators.”
Despite the donation, The Alberta Teachers Association and the Opposition NDP continue to call for smaller class sizes to help control the spread of the virus, something the UCP government said is not feasible.
