Hamilton school board keeps mask rule, saying province was ‘silent’ about having to follow Moore

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Published March 17, 2022 at 11:29 pm

It appears the largest school board in Hamilton successfully called the province’s bluff when it comes to extending masking rules beyond Monday, when it becomes optional in many public indoor settings across Ontario.

On Thursday, the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) posted a letter to families saying it will continue requiring masks for staff and students until April 1 to “mitigate spread of COVID after March Break and accommodate students seeking to transition to remote learning.” Families can, however, apply for an exemption and staff are not required to verify it. Visitors to schools will be offered a mask.

The motion has been revised from an original extension to April 15. But HWDSB is one board that is carrying on with mostly mandatory masking since no one from the Ontario Ministry of Education (MOE) is stopping them, as Chair Dawn Danko said in a radio interview Thursday.

“We’ve received a memo and an update that removed the provincial requirement, but that was silent on whether boards could continue to have their own mandates,” Danko told AM900 CHML. “And, in past, the ministry’s been clear that the guidelines that were set out were a minimum standard, and boards could exceed that.”

Danko also noted that Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore, who decided masks will be optional in schools on Monday (March 21), still plans wearing his indoors.

“This (two weeks) was meant to be a transition period,” Danko added. “I would ask people to remember that when we started wearing masks (in 2020) … it wasn’t necessarily to protect yourself — it was to protect others. There are people who don’t seem to understand that the chief medical officer of health (Dr. Moore) is still encouraging people to wearing masks. No one is saying ‘drop masks.’ … and this is about being compassionate to people for whom this will not feel like a safe environment.”

The HWDSB also noted that any staff or students who travelled outside of Canada for March Break would have to wear a mask for two weeks any way. That falls under federal regulations.

“All individuals exempt from quarantine who are returning from international travel continue to be required to wear a mask in all public spaces for 14 days after their return to Canada,” states Thursday’s letter. “Masks are also required under certain conditions under the updated screening rules, and families are reminded to continue screening daily.” 

The HWSDB has been more successful than other boards at extending a masking policy. The largest school board in Canada, the Toronto District School Board, was told by Moore that it cannot continue to have masking rules, the Globe and Mail reported on Thurdsay.

But some private schools that are not bound by MOE direction are keeping mask requirements. One that is is St. Michael’s College School in Toronto, which is the high school that Education Minister Stephen Lecce attended.

Premier Doug Ford said this week he will keep wearing a mask in the Ontario Legislature. Last week, Lecce and Ford both said boards of education have to go with Moore’s guidance.

“I’m going to be very clear — the school boards, they aren’t medical experts,” Ford said on March 11. “The chief medical officer is the expert. He’s done his due diligence. He’s consulted with other medical officers. He doesn’t make this decision lightly.”

Section 22 of the Health Promotion and Protection Act states that local public health units and local MOHs make decisions on protections in a public setting. Health Minister and Deputy Premier Christine Elliott, who is retiring from politics rather than stay on the Ontario PC Party team for its re-election bid in the spring, acknowledged that on March 7.

The HWDSB said it has sent two letters to Hamilton Public Health Services asking for help, but has not had a response.

Remote spaces ‘quite limited’

Hamilton’s two-week extension is also meant to create time for children who wish to switch to remote learning. At Thursday’s emergency board meeting where the motion was amended, HWDSB Associate Director of Education Sue Dunlop said space for more remote learners is “quite limited” in both the elementary and secondary systems. Dunlop also was very careful in wording whether the province offered any extra funding for e-learning, after Moore announced optional masking on the third-last day of school before March Break.

“What the ministry has told us is we should continue to offer it and expedite it, based on current staffing levels,” Dunlop told HWDSB trustees on March 15. “There are some spaces available in those virtual classes. Usually there’s a bit of a lag (for a student to switch over).

“Those spaces are available now, but they are quite limited in elementary and secondary.”

Ontario students have lost more days of in-person instruction than their counterparts in every other province, territory and U.S. state during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student Trustee Deema Abdel Hafeez said on Tuesday night that many students would not be able to attend school if masking requirements were not extended.

“They would be forced to make a choice between putting their health at risk, or staying at home and having further disruption to their continuity of learning,” she said.

There is a mask exemption form that is available at hwdsb.on.ca.

Masking is not becoming optional in all public indoor settings on March 21. Long-term care homes and public transit will still require masks. It will become optional in settings such as grocery stores and shopping malls.

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