Fueling Brains Academy says handbook clause raising parent's ire was 'improperly included'

A Calgary father voiced his concern about a waiver he was asked to sign by Fueling Brains Academy, the company at the centre of last year's massive E.coli outbreak that spread to daycares around the city.

His daughter goes to the Fueling Brains in New Brighton, one of the daycares that had to shut down during the eight-week outbreak.

There were at least 446 E.coli cases connected to the outbreak, which hospitalized dozens of children.

Now, parents are receiving a new code of conduct from the company that contains additions to previous years, including a section that appears to release Fueling Brains from liability for negligence.

Parents say it's not only concerning, but tone deaf.

"They're not living up to their own code of conduct, but they're expecting the parents to waive liability for the care of our children for them,” Jeremy Erikson said.

“How is this making any sense?”

In a statement via email on Thursday, Fueling Brains Academy media relations addressed the clause:

"Fueling Brains periodically reviews, updates and amends its Parent Handbook. This year's version improperly included an indemnification clause. We appreciate that parents quickly raised their concerns with us, and we are re-drafting the Handbook to remove that section," the statement read.

"The health, safety and security of our students and staff is a top priority at Fueling Brains Academy. We are grateful for our community's patience and understanding while we complete the revision of the Parent Handbook."

The company and its two directors are facing a class-action lawsuit and go to trial in September, accused of serving food at child-care centres without a food services business licence.