Ottawa school board votes to bring masks back; Some GTHA boards eye similar move

Trustees with Ottawa’s largest school board have voted to make masks a requirement for students and staff once again despite the province’s decision to end the mask mandate last month.

A motion was brought before the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) on Tuesday night for masks to be required for staff and educators in all school buildings until the local public health unit says otherwise.

Trustee Justine Bell was in favour of the motion and says it was brought forward for the health and safety of students and staff.

“I’m going to be supporting this motion because I want to keep kids in schools,” said Bell.

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Related:

• Ontario expands eligibility for COVID antivirals, PCR testing for those at high risk

• International travelers must wear a mask for 14 days after returning home to Canada

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Some trustees against reimposing the requirements were skeptical of how it could be enforced since it is no longer mandated at the provincial level. Others levied concerned that it would lead to further divisiveness.

“Is it enforceable? We did it the last time and educators did an incredible job,” said Bell. “We’ve heard from the unions that they want this.”

The board says “staff are developing an implementation plan and will provide additional clarification shortly.”

“We have the authority under the Education Act and under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to do our part to increase the level of commitment to masking in our schools to help reduce the risk of transmission in our community,” said trustee Mark Fisher.

Last week, Public Health Ontario released an updated COVID-19 risk assessment briefing and suggested that the reintroduction of masking for indoors settings would help curb transmission in classrooms.

“Optimizing layers of prevention in K-12 schools, including temporary reimplementation of masking requirements indoors and improved air quality can reduce the risk of in-school transmission and related disruption,” reads the statement.

Other Ontario school boards considering new mask requirements

School boards in Halton and Hamilton are set to discuss similar mask motions later this month.

In Toronto, a trustee for the Toronto District School Board tells the Toronto Star she has not heard of a similar motion coming forward as in other boards. A trustee with the Toronto Catholic District School Board says she might consider a move, but wouldn’t want to raise false expectations in parents.

Several school boards across the province, including in Toronto, asked the province to extend the mandate in schools when it was lifting in other settings on March 21.

When asked about masks in classrooms on Monday, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said he doesn’t believe it is necessary.

“There has been no significant rise in risk of children in intensive care units,” he said.

The Toronto Board of Health called on the Ford government this week to give the city’s top doctor more power to reimpose mask mandates in some settings, such as in schools.

Toronto’s chief medical officer Dr. Eileen de Villa had the authority earlier in the pandemic to make masks mandatory — she says it was dropped last month when changes were made to the ‘Reopening Ontario Act.’

The changes to the act prevent local public health officials from issuing letters of instruction, such as making masks or vaccines mandatory.

Masking requirements remain at the provincial level for some settings, including 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 mandates are currently scheduled to end for all remaining locations on Apr. 27, but Moore said he is actively discussing a plan to extend mandatory face coverings in high-risk settings.