Ottawa-Carlton School Board votes to mandate masks

tomtidgewellNovember 17, 2022

The new board was sworn in Tuesday night. Lyra Evans was elected Chair and Justine Bell was elected Vice-Chair. Both are strong supporters of the masking movement.

The Board of Directors of the Ottawa-Carlton District School Board plans to discuss an emergency motion on whether to reinstate mandatory masking in schools. Photo by Tony Caldwell /post media

The Ottawa-Carlton District School Board’s board of directors said Monday on whether to require students and staff to wear masks again as a wave of respiratory viruses sends record numbers of children to CHEO. Also vote for

Trustee Nili Kaplan Maas suggested an emergency meeting to discuss mandatory masking.

Board Chair Lyra Evans said the meeting was tentatively scheduled for Monday or Tuesday, depending on the availability of Ottawa Public Health and CHEO officials.

If the motion is passed, children and staff at the city’s largest school board could be asked to wear masks immediately, Kaplan Maas said.

Kaplan Mars, a family doctor who is an outspoken advocate for pandemic public health measures, was one of seven new directors elected to 12 school boards in October.

The new board was sworn in Tuesday night. Chair-elect Evans and Vice-Chair Justin Bell are both strong supporters of the masking movement. To pass a motion, a majority of the trustees present at the meeting must vote in favor.

Three other Ottawa school boards have posted statements encouraging the wearing of masks in schools, but please note that it is still a personal choice.

Last March, the state government lifted the requirement to wear masks in most public spaces.

Ontario’s chief medical officer, Dr. Kieran Moore, on Monday strongly recommended that children wear masks indoors and in public places to protect them from the spread of respiratory viruses.

Children’s hospitals statewide are struggling to cope with the flood of children suffering from respiratory viruses, primarily respiratory syncytial virus and flu, and even COVID-19.

If the situation worsens, Moore said he would consider making masks mandatory, especially in day care centers.

Moore urged Ontario residents to protect their children by wearing masks, getting vaccinated against flu and COVID-19, and staying home and washing their hands when sick.

“These basics will get us through. I need more Ontarians to listen and protect the most vulnerable in our community,” he said.

Dr Vera Etcht, Ottawa’s health and medical officer, has been giving the same advice for weeks, including strongly recommending wearing a mask indoors and in crowded public places. Levels of COVID-19 in the city remains high.

Etches says it’s not exercising its power to require masks in schools or elsewhere under Section 22 of the state’s Health Protection and Promotion Act, and would be more effective with a statewide rule.

But at the same time, Ottawa Public Health said it “strongly supports” businesses and other organizations that “choose to enforce a mask-wearing policy.”

It is highly recommended to wear a close-fitting mask indoors and/or in crowded public places.

We also fully support businesses/organizations that choose to enforce a mask-wearing policy.

By wearing a mask, you can protect yourself and others around you.

Thank you Ottawa. (2/2)

— Ottawa Public Health (@OttawaHealth) November 9, 2022

The school board is in a mess.

Ottawa Public Health says it “supports” organizations implementing mask rules, although the school board does not recommend doing so.

Responding to a question about whether to make masks mandatory in schools on Monday, Dr. Moore said he has no jurisdiction over school boards, but they can “consult” local health officials. .

The Ministry of Health quickly countered that it was wrong. According to the Department of Health, the chief medical officer of health or the local health care officer can order masks at schools, but that’s not up to the school board.

And what if the state says masks are optional, but the Ottawa school board passes a motion that masks are required?

It has already happened once. Last April, the Ottawa Carlton Board of Governors voted against the Department of Education to pass a motion to require masks in schools as the state plunged into another wave of her COVID-19.

It was not clear when the mask mandate would end, and director Camille Williams-Taylor, who opposed the motion, expressed some concerns, including how it would be enforced. The Lecce Minister of Education said students in the province will be able to choose whether or not to wear masks.

Last spring, the mask mandate at the Ottawa-Carlton Board of Directors lasted for several weeks until Williams-Taylor sent a letter to parents telling them masks were once again optional.

Premier Ford gets even hotter by not wearing a mask

Prime Minister Doug Ford was again criticized for appearing without a mask in parliament on Wednesday.

It seems to be a classic case of “Do as I say, not as I say,” said Peter Tabuns, official NDP-MPP opposition leader.

Tabuns and other opposition politicians have repeatedly asked Ford why he ignored advice from Moore issued Monday to wear masks indoors and in public.

Ottawa Center MPP Joel Harden noted a social media post on CHEO’s 2-year-old girl Chloe having trouble breathing when her parents sing her a lullaby.

“Now, CHEO has 250 children, and some of them are going through the exact same nightmare,” Harden said.

Harden urged Ford to send a message to Chloe’s parents, and to all the other children in Ontario who are having trouble breathing right now. Please take the lead as a state that wants our children to be safe. “

It’s hard to see, but it’s a reality. My girlfriend’s 2 year old granddaughter was admitted to CHEO yesterday. Her dad works in the school system and mom is a nurse. Does doing this to our baby deserve anti-mask rhetoric? pic.twitter.com/YhQq86xUCL

— Natalie Dion (@Nannynannynanoo) November 12, 2022

Ford relayed the question to Health Minister Sylvia Jones, who was wearing a mask.

Jones also didn’t answer questions directly, but said the most important thing people can do is stay up to date on flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Jones also stressed all that the government is doing to improve healthcare, and said hospitals are working together to address the surge in sick children.

For example, some teenagers are transferred from children’s hospitals to community hospitals.

Jones praises the CHEO for transforming a conference room into a second pediatric ICU unit, calling it an “incredible innovation” that was quickly made when needed.

The CHEO is expected to provide an update on Thursday on the situation at hospitals where inpatient and ICU beds are significantly over capacity and surgeries are being canceled or delayed.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the patient had been waiting for 16 hours to see an emergency department doctor, according to the CHEO.

Quebec emergency rooms face the same three threats.Masks recommended in crowds

Quebec hospital emergency rooms could face an even larger wave of patients as flu season arrives, health officials said Wednesday.

Public Health Director Dr Luc Boileau warned that Quebec, like the rest of Canada, is facing three respiratory viruses. They are COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Boileau said RSV accounts for a significant proportion of pediatric hospitalizations due to a “catch-up” effect, as children who had not been exposed to the virus in the past few years become ill all at once.

He said the start of the flu season in Quebec has lagged behind other places, such as Ontario, but that cases will almost certainly increase.

Boileau and Health Minister Christian Duvet recommended that people of all ages wear masks in crowded public places, except in nurseries and schools. He asked people to follow basic hygiene practices, such as wearing a mask when

Boileau said there is no need for a mask mandate at this time. He said the mandate puts “pressure” on citizens and should be considered “very delicately”.

jmiller@postmedia.com

Using Canadian Press files