Ontario's Day Nursery Act

[just_lily]

I am in Alberta, but I am having a debate with someone about daycare in Ontario. Apparently there is a sign on the door of her daughter's preschool that states:

Ottawa public health reserves the right to remove your child from this facility if your child's vaccinations are not up to date.

She also inquired about this to the director (although I am not sure how she worded the question as she is pro-vax) the response was that ALL children needed to be vaccinated, or else they needed a "special" letter from their doctor AND public health.

Of course this all sounds like total b.s. to me, and the director either is trying force compliance or simply doesn't know what she is talking about. The Ontario Day Nursery Act specifically states:

Regulation 262:

(1) Every operator shall ensure that before a child is admitted to a day nursery operated by the operator or to a location where private-home day care is provided by the operator, and from time to time thereafter, the child is immunized as recommended by the local medical officer of health. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 262, s. 33 (1).

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where a parent of the child objects in writing to the immunization on the ground that the immunization conflicts with the sincerely held convictions of the parent's religion or conscience or a legally qualified medical practitioner gives medical reasons in writing to the operator as to why the child should not be immunized. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 262, s. 33 (2).

So it seems to me that it shouldn't be hard at all to get an exemption, and a daycare would have to respect this, no?

Does anyone have any first hand experience?

[PatioGardener]

There is an exemption form form from Public Health that needs to be notorized and then submitted to Public Health. Non-vaxed children will be excluded from school (not sure about child care) if there is an outbreak of an infectious disease that is mentioned in the public health act (not all vaccine preventable diseases, just some specific ones that I cannot remember off the top of my head.) I can't imagine a child care facility successfully refusing a child that Public Health has received an exemption form for. If they tried, Public Health would contact them if asked to clarify things, I would think.