Masking at Queen’s Park cuts down political lines

Who was masked and who wasn’t at Queen’s Park appeared to be determined by which party they’re currently representing.

MPPs returned to the legislature on Monday following a week away in their constituencies with masks no longer required in the legislature. However, it was only the government benches that sported bare faces.

Of the 47 Progressive Conservative (PC) MPPs present at the start of Monday’s Question Period, only 17 wore masks. All opposition members present kept their face coverings on, and of 15 New Democratic Party (NDP) MPPs present, 15 were masked.

“We know that there’s a possibility of the sixth wave, so let’s make sure that we reinforce things like masking. We say to people masks are important, we should wear them. If the government’s not going to make them mandatory, they should encourage the use – they are not,” said Liberal House Leader John Fraser.

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Fraser says dropping the mask mandate is a political move by both the government and chief medical officer Dr. Kieran Moore.

“Public health Ontario said wait a couple of weeks. The science table said to wait a couple of weeks. The children’s health coalition [said] we need to wait. Dr. Moore said we don’t need to wait,” Fraser said. “What’s the only difference there? Dr. Moore works for the government.”

Both the Liberals and NDP say they decided to keep masking in the legislature.

“We discuss these things [and] decided based on how we felt most comfortable, and yes, that does include cohorting and masking,” said NDP leader Andrea Horwath.

In another note from Queen’s Park, for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public can take in question period in person. The public galleries reopened at the legislature Monday.

Ontario residents were able to shop, see a movie, and take in a hockey game without wearing a mask for the first time in about a year-and-a-half as the province lifted face-covering mandates for most public spaces.

Students in public schools were also able to attend class without wearing a mask, though many chose to keep wearing them.