While students in Alberta no longer need to wear their masks within schools, some Ontario parents aren’t sure if they want the same policy here.
The Alberta government lifted its mask mandate for students in grade 12 and under Monday. Children under age 12 are now no longer required to wear a mask anywhere outside of school.
Jason Schilling, President of the Alberta Teachers’ Association is worried the move is premature.
“We don’t want to move too quickly into the removal of safety protocols and then somehow jeopardize all the great work that has been done over the last two years and have us end back at square one.”
Schilling said it’s difficult to know what the thought process was behind this decision since they weren’t in the loop.
“It would have been nice to have been consulted with this decision,” he said.
The lifting of the mask mandate led several students to walk out of their classrooms in protest on Monday.
One of the student co-organizers of this movement, Samuel Clarke, shared his thoughts to the Red Deer Advocate:
“To think that so many people and their parents are more concerned about the cloth on their face than protecting their peers and teacher.”
Some Ontario parents say if the mask mandate were removed in Ontario, they wouldn’t hesitate to remove their children from in-person learning.
“Given the decision of health or education, health wins, it always will,” said Cristina Do Carmo, a Toronto mother of two.
She says she reminds her children every day to keep their masks on while at school.
“Even though kids don’t transmit COVID-19 as much as adults do, removing the mask mandate definitely doesn’t help with ending the pandemic,” said Do Carmo.
“It’s a decision that in no way helps limit spread and only serves to further put kids and everyone around them at risk”
Adrian Ribeiro, a Brampton father to one seven-year-old daughter, views Alberta’s decision as too hasty.
“Masks are a major deterrent for the spread of the coronavirus and a big reason why a return to school was even possible,” said Ribeiro.
“Removing a requirement for masks is taking one step back when right now we should be doubling down to make sure our kids can stay in school”.