Mask mandate debate at Ottawa-Carlton School Board ends without vote

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A Tuesday night meeting of the Ottawa-Carlton District School Board had no vote on imposing mask rules after those opposed to such a mandate interrupted it with heckles and police kicked attendees out of the room. ended with

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Debate over a motion requiring the use of face masks among students and staff within Ottawa’s largest school board continued in effect after the turmoil, but it will resume at 10:30 p.m. The board has not disclosed when that will be.

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About 200 people attended the conference in person, most of whom appeared to oppose the reintroduction of mask requirements at boarding schools.

The meeting began with delegations either for or against Musk’s move, and was occasionally met with cheers and hesitations from the crowd, prompting board chair Lyra Evans to urge people to leave if they continued to cause a ruckus. I warned you that you would be caught.

However, confusion continued. Two breaks were called, escorted by several people, before Evans announced that the in-person meeting had ended and would resume virtually.

The scene was chaotic at times, with protesters walking around chanting “Liberty” and “Shame” and singing O Canada. Several protesters yelled at the trustees, who were gathered in a corner of the boardroom away from the crowd.

One of the attendees slammed a cardboard box full of yellow envelopes on the conference room table and yelled: You are now served!

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At one point the police were called and everyone was asked to leave the school board building.

Before that happened, CHEO chief of staff Lindy Samson, who appeared online, said wearing a mask would help curb transmission of the respiratory virus that is currently sending a record number of children to hospital. was ridiculed when she explained that there was evidence to support the effectiveness of

Samson said he had never seen so many children seriously ill with a respiratory virus, outlining the CHEO situation. It is mainly caused by RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and influenza, but also by COVID-19.

With the hospital’s ICU at 200% capacity and inpatient beds at 185% capacity, the wait to see a doctor in the emergency department lasted 13 hours on Monday night. Hospitals have postponed certain surgeries and procedures, including brain and heart surgeries.

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The surge could continue for another four to six weeks, she said.

As the meeting virtually resumed, Samson was asked how effective masks would be at the Ottawa-Carlton board of directors if they weren’t required in other public places in the city.

“A little bit of help,” said Samson.

Dr. Kieran Moore, the state’s chief medical officer, strongly recommends wearing masks in indoor public places, including schools, but it’s not required.

The state lifted mask requirements in most public places last March.

University of Ottawa epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan also appeared online and was booed by the crowd when he said the only solution to the “real and scary” crisis at CHEO was temporary mask mandates. . “If we don’t delay this, the children will die.”

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Wade Shanley, a parent of three children, said a recent staff survey suggesting that less than 10% of children in schools on the Board of Trustees are currently wearing masks. rice field. He said this is evidence that parents and children do not support mask mandates.

Blake Maguire, a parent of four children, said he was “literally begging” the board not to need masks. He said he was suffering from

Director Dr. Niri Kaplan Maas, who proposed the masking motion, urged fellow directors to “do simple, effective things right now to help keep children and educators healthier and safer.” urged.

She advises trustees to consider exhausted parents sitting in CHEO’s emergency department or frantically calling their family doctor or pediatrician because their children are having trouble breathing. urged to

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Trustee Donna Blackburn, who opposes mask mandates, wonders why neither Moore nor Ottawa medical doctor Dr. Vera Etches imposes mask mandates if the situation is so dire. Asked.

Etches did not attend the board meeting, but did file a report.

Ottawa Public Health has ‘strongly recommended’ wearing masks indoors and in public places from late August, first because of COVID and now because of the triple threat of RSV, flu and COVID. .

“The more people wearing high-quality masks in indoor environments, the greater the benefits,” says Etches’ brief.

In schools, OPH says it is “important to promote understanding that wearing a mask protects others and make mask wearing an easier option.” Adults can lead by example, says the report.

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The “overwhelming majority” of healthy children, especially if their peers wear masks, say there is “no evidence of physical, cognitive, or objective mental health effects” on mask wearing. You can endure.

The greatest mental health impact on children during the pandemic is probably caused by social isolation, school and community-based closures and restrictions, the report says.

But the report said some parents and educators feared the “emotional toll” of making masks mandatory, creating divisions at school, among friends and family.

Additionally, the report questioned the idea of ​​asking students and staff to be exempt from wearing medical masks, saying it could put a strain on both families without doctors and those who have difficulty getting appointments. medical system.

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Before the meeting was postponed to 10:30 p.m., the Trustees began debating the complicated question of where the mask mandate would actually take place — the school bus? The after-school dance? — and how it can be implemented.

School districts already have a shortage of bus drivers, and a mandate to crack down on students wearing masks could make matters worse, said Lynn Scott of the Board of Trustees.

The Ottawa-Carlton board’s mask policy has changed from simply encouraging the wearing of masks in schools to “strongly encourage,” the board reports, based on advice from public health officials. .

A board spokesperson said masking was also “strongly recommended” at public board meetings, but not required.

Four councilors—Blackburn, Jennifer Jenkens, Donna Dixon and Matthew Lee—didn’t wear masks during Tuesday’s meeting, while the remaining eight did, as did the education director. Was.

jmiller@postmedia.com