Toronto students stage walkout to protest end of Ontario mask mandate

The student group organizing the demonstration, Ontario Students For COVID Safety, said removing the mask mandate will put schools at risk. Tammie Sutherland spoke to one of the organizers.

By Michael Talbot, Lucas Casaletto and Tammie Sutherland

On the first day back from March Break, some high school students in Toronto walked out of class to protest the end of the mask mandate in Ontario schools.

Eleven Toronto high schools were planning to take part in the province-wide walkout.

Dozens of students at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute in Scarborough began filing out of class at 11 a.m., with many holding signs asking for the mask mandate to remain in place for at least two more weeks. The protest lasted for an about an hour.

“Masking has helped us throughout the pandemic, and overall I think we should continue masking as it’s going to help us further,” one student said.

“I feel very unsafe … I live with elderly parents at home and I have to keep them protected as well.”

Sophia Alexanian, one of the organizers, said more than 50 schools in Ontario planned to take part in the walkout, including protesting outside the schools and marching to local MPP offices.

It’s not yet clear how many schools actually took part, or how many students joined.

Alexanian held a sign Monday that read: “Ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away.”

“The mask mandate is just the tip of the iceberg,” she told CityNews earlier. “Students are not prioritized in so many other ways. Students and staff don’t have access to PCR testing — that’s pressing our ability to report COVID cases in schools,” Alexanian said.

The protest comes as the Ford government lifts its mask mandate, with masks no longer required to be worn in most indoor public areas, including schools, child-care and retail settings.

The student group organizing the demonstration, Ontario Students For COVID Safety, said removing the mask mandate will put schools at risk. They are calling for mask mandates to be extended, broad PCR test access for students and staff, and COVID-19 cases to be reported.

“[We’re] calling for mask mandates to be extended in accordance with the recommendations of the Children’s Health Coalition,” the group said.

“As well, they call for access to PCR testing for staff and students; the reporting of COVID-19 cases in schools; and the cancellation of EQAO and other standardized tests during this stressful time.”

Last week, the province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, rejected proposals to extend COVID-19 mask mandates at schools in multiple regions, including at Toronto District School Board facilities.

TDSB chair Alexander Brown asked for “additional time to approach the removal of protections within schools.” However, Moore said, in part, that “with the peak of Omicron behind us, Ontario has been able to cautiously and gradually move through its reopening milestones.”

However, the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board said it will continue to keep the mandate in place for two more weeks, in defiance of the provincial order.

Officials said the decision to lift masking rules was made based on improving COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Dr. Moore has recommended that those most vulnerable to COVID-19 “should continue to wear a mask in select settings, including those who are immunocompromised or medically fragile.”

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

The province said mask rules will end for all remaining settings on April 27.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today