Updated: Wed Jun. 04 2008 7:30:52 PM

The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Trustees at the Halton Catholic District School Board came under fire from Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Liberal government Wednesday for refusing to allow an HPV vaccine program for Grade 8 girls in their schools.

The board reversed an earlier decision Tuesday and voted not to allow public health nurses in Halton Catholic schools this fall to administer the vaccine for the human papilloma virus, which is contracted only through sexual activity and is the leading cause of cervical cancer in women.

"I'm just going to speak as a parent: I am disappointed with that decision,'' McGuinty said.

"It's the right thing to do for our daughters. I think it's a mistake for the board not to participate in that program.''

The Halton trustees also voted to have the board increase its efforts to impress on students that abstinence before marriage is an important feature of the Catholic faith.

Many Catholic boards across Ontario have struggled with the HPV controversy since the province announced a $39-million vaccination program last July.

Figures from the Health Ministry show that as of last month, more than 40,000 girls, or about 53 per cent of those eligible for the vaccine, consented and received the first of three vaccinations. The government is still collecting data from the first year of the program, so those numbers could change.

Health Minister George Smitherman said he obviously would like to see a higher uptake of the HPV vaccine, but added there was no need for the Halton Catholic board to opt out of a program that was designed to give parents the final say.

"I don't think that boards need to do what parents and families are already able to do, which is make decisions about whether their young girls will have the opportunities for the protection of the HPV vaccine,'' he said.

"I think when board trustees decide they're making those judgments when we've already built a model around the family making those judgments, I found that unhelpful.''

NDP health critic France Gelinas said part of the problem with the low uptake is a lack of government funding for public health units so they can properly educate parents about the protections provided by the HPV vaccine.

"When you don't support the health units, when they don't have the resources to go and do their work, then you have the result like we see in Halton,'' Gelinas said. "Lack of information leads to bad decision making, and this was a bad decision.''

McGuinty said the province cannot force school boards to participate in the vaccination program, but it can make sure parents are informed about it and that the vaccine is covered under public health care.

Smitherman said the province will continue to work through public health units to offer the HPV vaccine to as many girls as possible.

"I think that we'll watch for those numbers to build,'' he said. "We think that it offers extraordinarily good protections against cervical cancer, a very deadly form of cancer.''

All provinces except Alberta either offer the HPV vaccine to students or plan to do so in the near future.

HPV is common, especially among younger women.

The anti-HPV vaccine Gardasil currently on the Canadian market is licensed for use in females aged nine through 26.