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Originally Posted by Xelebes
Do you have citations for these numbers?
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There are a variety of references, so it depends on what you're looking for. For example, most of the home schooling data is from this report, which is a couple years old and uses data a couple years older than that:
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/blog...tinues-to-grow
In 2015, there were
26,646 children officially registered as being home schooled in Canada. Of that number,
almost 10,000 were from Alberta (approximately 40%), followed by Ontario with about 6,500. Using the raw numbers, Alberta had 50% more than #2 Ontario, which of course has a much, much larger population.
Regarding health concerns relating from the anti-vax crowd, there is a lot of data pointing to some of Canada's biggest pockets being in rural Alberta, with some correlation to home-schooling parents (who often have a very overt extremist'ism religious belief). This recent article about the issue nationally goes on to list all of the outbreaks specifically in Alberta:
https://globalnews.ca/news/5110251/u...-rates-canada/
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A horseshoe-shaped area around Lethbridge, Alta., has seen 12 different outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. They include a rubella outbreak in 1996; measles outbreaks in 1997, 1999, 2013; a mumps outbreak in 2017; and six outbreaks of pertussis/whooping cough between 1999 and 2017.
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Dr. Suttorp says the reasons why immunization rates are low in the region are complex. Religious and cultural beliefs play a role, but across Canada, this community is not unique. Health officials have identified a number of other places across the country that are vulnerable to outbreaks because they are largely unprotected.
According to a 2014 Alberta Health Services presentation, those communities included Norwich (Oxford County), St. Catharines and Brantford in Ontario; the Lower Fraser Valley, Smithers and Vanderhoof in B.C.; and the Lacombe, Rimbey, Red Deer and Lethbridge-areas in Alberta.
Since then, surveillance data suggest vaccination coverage rates has dropped even further areas in some areas. According to Alberta Health, within the county of Lethbridge, 68.5 per cent of children had received the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine in 2014, and by 2017 that rate had fallen to 64.5 per cent.
Data from the BC Centre for Disease Control suggests a similar trend. Within the Northern Health region (which contains the communities of Smithers and Vanderhoof), 65 per cent of children were considered up-to-date with their vaccinations in 2014. By 2017 that number had fallen to 63 per cent.
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Regarding home schooling correlation with anti-vax families, there are numerous articles one could pick from. Do a search on Google and you'll see many dozen relevant ones. Many of these families are the same extremist types that a.) don't want their kids exposed to the ills of society, and b.) know that there are more closely watched regulations and vaccination regiments at schools (particularly public schools) so see home schooling as a legit option.
If you think of very well known cases of extremism, such as Bountiful, BC or the kid who had meningitis but wasn't taken to a hospital and ended up dying when the parents focused solely on homeopathy, home schooling was there. Think his name was Ezekiel Stephan.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada...zekiel-stephan
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The extended Stephan clan sprawls across a stretch of Southern Alberta known for rolling hills and cattle pastures, about three hours’ drive south of Calgary in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. It’s home to quaint towns like Cardston, Magrath and Raymond; Hutterites, Dutch Calvinists and Mormons historically settled the area after fleeing government persecution. People here hew to an earthy conservatism that’s touched with individualism and a healthy distrust of authority. The region is dotted with billboards that read “More Alberta, less Ottawa.”
Some of the groups here subscribe to old-fashioned dress codes, home or community schooling and a distrust of modern medicine. There is a notoriously low co-operation with vaccination schedules, and outbreaks of whooping cough and measles are becoming more common.
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