Smith’s promise to avoid future school mask mandates draws criticism

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Prime Minister Danielle Smith’s promise to ensure mask mandates are not reintroduced in Alberta schools is drawing criticism from some parents and teachers.

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On Saturday, Smith said his administration will not allow future mask-wearing requirements in the province’s K-12 education system. That vote came in the wake of a King’s Bench Court decision that found Alberta acted “unreasonably” in lifting school mask mandates in February.

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Alberta Teachers Association President Jason Schilling said Sunday that the government should not close the door on any intervention for public health reasons. He said the government, medical professionals and schools have a role to play in keeping students safe at school.

“Moving forward, it is irresponsible to take any protective measures off the table that may allow schools to safely remain open and limit the spread of disease in the broader community. This potentially includes requiring the use of masks,” Schilling said.

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“COVID-19 has proven remarkably adaptable. We should expect at least the same from our government.”

Calgarian Tracey Bartie’s son is immunocompromised, with colds and other infections that have larger health consequences, including hospitalizations. He returned to the classroom for grade 10, wearing an N95 mask, after two years at home.

Bartie said that while her son’s school has been very accommodating, she is frustrated by the government’s commitment to move away from mask mandates for good.

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“He knows when he goes to school he’s taking a risk, but he has to do it for his own social and academic well-being,” Bartie said.

“When I saw that ad (on Saturday), I was very disturbed, because what they are basically saying is that they are going to deprive an entire group of children of having the opportunity to have a normal school life. I don’t understand why masking, when it can prevent so many diseases, is such a big difficulty.”

In his statement on Saturday, Smith denounced the “detrimental effects of mask wearing on children’s mental health, development and education in classrooms,” and said Alberta must “turn the page” on the pandemic in schools.

He said he has instructed his health, justice and education ministers to examine what legislative or regulatory changes would be necessary to ensure the government has full authority over masking decisions, as well as other matters in the health and education portfolios.

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The prime minister added that she had directed Attorney General Tyler Shandro to consider whether to appeal Thursday’s court decision, which found that the PCU government had breached the Public Health Act by lifting the mask mandate at school.

Dr. Jon Meddings, former dean of the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, said in response to Smith’s statement that the court decision specifies that public health decisions must be made by medical experts.

“We may need to mask up again in the future,” Meddings said on Twitter. “Having a (non-expert) politician preemptively exclude that shows how far we’ve sunk.”

Postmedia contacted the prime minister’s office on Saturday with a number of questions, including what evidence it was citing about the detrimental health impact of wearing masks, but a spokesman said no comment would be available before Monday as several government officials They were not available on the weekend.

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a recent evidence review by Public Health Ontario found no evidence of reduced respiratory function or cognitive impact in children wearing masks, with mixed results on psychological and communicative impacts. The review found that schools with mask mandates have lower rates of COVID-19 infection.

The court decision was prompted by a judicial review by the families of five immunocompromised children and the Alberta Federation of Labor.

That case was not about forcing students to wear masks continuously, but about ensuring that school boards have the option to use mask mandates when necessary, AFL President Gil McGowan told Postmedia.

— With files from Brodie Thomas

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