Hamilton school board set to defy Ford government on mask mandate

Ontario students are readying for a return to school on Monday with many families having to decide whether they want their children to continue to don masks in the classroom following March break.

However, one school board appears ready to defy the Ford government’s mandate to lift masks in public schools. The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) trustees voted to keep the mandate in place for two more weeks despite the province’s rejection of other school boards to do the same.

“At a March 15 special board meeting, the board of trustees rescinded a previous motions on masking for students and staff, and passed an updated motion in its place,” reads an email from the board to parents.

“This motion continues the mask mandate until April 1, 2022, to allow for a transition period after the March Break and for students seeking to transition to remote learning.”

Related:

• Province rejects TDSB, other schools’ requests to extend mask mandate

• As public health measures lift Tam says COVID-19 case bump ‘not unexpected’

On Friday afternoon, a letter was sent to the school boards trustee chair from Education Minister Stephen Lecce, reinforcing and reiterating the chief medical officer’s decision to lift masking requirements. As of Monday, masks will no longer be required in Ontario schools, grocery stores, malls, or other indoor areas.

Dr. Kiera Moore penned a letter to a number of school boards on Thursday, including the Toronto District School Board, rejecting their requests for an extension to masking.

“With high vaccination coverage and the availability of antiviral treatments, Ontario now has both the prevention and response tools necessary to manage the impact of COVID-19,” Moore wrote in the letter.

A spokesperson for the HWDSB told CityNews it had not received a similar letter from Ontario’s top doctor.

Many health experts are questioning the timing of the province’s decision as a surge in a new COVID-19 Omicron subvariant starts to take hold in other parts of the world.

Dr. Kashif Pirzada, an emergency room physician in Toronto, tells CityNews he agrees with the move from the Hamilton board.

“It shows that the elected school board representatives of the Hamilton school board are considering the health of the children, and the parents and relatives of those children,” he says.

CityNews spoke to several Hamilton parents on Friday who are upset with the boards decision to continue to enforce masks beyond March 21. In addition to the ending of the mask mandate, class cohorts and other measures will also end next week.

“We’ve protected our kids so far by using common sense measures, lifting them all at once right as a new variant is coming is a wreckless move,” Pirzada said.

“We’re going to keep sending our child to school with masks on. We’re going to be going to any indoor space with a good N95 mask.”

Science table expects rise in cases, hospitalizations as mask mandates end

Pirzada says he believes the decision from the province is a political one, with little consideration or consultation coming from experts. He cites the latest pandemic projections from the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table released on Thursday.

In the updated modelling, the science table concluded that the province will likely see a bump in hospitalizations and ICU occupancy as public health measures cease and the BA.2 Omicron subvariant takes hold. Though they predict the increase won’t be as significant as seen in January.

“The Ontario science table was pretty clear (Thursday), saying that masks would be helpful,” Pirzada said.

The panel noted they were not consulted on the decision to remove masks when Dr. Kieran Moore made the announcement earlier this month.

Scientific director of the panel, Dr. Peter Juni, says he will continue to wear a mask even though he will no long be compelled to in certain settings.

“I will continue to maks, I will negotiate with my children that they continue to mask in school as well,” says Juni.

Masking requirements will remain after March 21 for public transit, long-term care, retirement homes and healthcare settings, congregate care settings, shelters, jails and homes for individuals with developmental disabilities.

All remaining mask rules will be lifted on April 27, and remaining emergency orders and directives will be removed or expire.

With files from CityNews reporter Adrian Ghobrial