Heated school board meeting on mask mandate ends with no audience, no vote

Trustees with Ottawa's largest school board have postponed a vote on whether to mandate masks in schools following a dramatic special meeting Tuesday night during which security and police removed some people for disruptive behaviour.

Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) board chair Lyra Evans repeatedly chastised parents and other members of the public for inappropriate screaming and cheering throughout the evening.

Twice, Evans called abrupt breaks during which security and police escorted people out of the meeting.

New trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth introduced the motion Tuesday for masks to be required during all activities except for music and other performing arts or sports where they can't be worn, as well as during lunch or snack breaks.

The motion points to a recent rise in COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and struggles at area ICUs and CHEO, eastern Ontario's children's hospital in Ottawa, to keep up.

It also references strong recommendations from local public health officials and Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, to wear a mask indoors.

Just before 10:30 p.m., trustees voted to adjourn their meeting — which meant pushing their vote to a future date. Trustees voted to resume the meeting "at the earliest reasonable opportunity," but didn't say when.

Dramatic evening of yelling, removing people

Multiple times throughout the night, Evans warned members of the public to refrain from clapping, cheering and yelling during delegation speeches and presentations from health officials.

"I understand that the audience has strong feelings about what is being said by the delegations … regardless of which side of this issue you land on," Evans told the crowd. "Please refrain from yelling out."

At one point, during a presentation by Dr. Lindy Samson, chief of staff at Ottawa children's hospital CHEO, people could be heard yelling in the background when Samson explained that evidence supports the effectiveness of masking.

Evans interrupted Samson to urge the crowd to keep their voices down: "I really do not want to start evicting people from this meeting but if you insist on causing a ruckus, I will have to."

Shortly after, Evans asked security to begin evicting people from the room, just before the board's livestream cut off for more than 30 minutes.

When the meeting resumed, people continued to yell while Samson concluded her presentation. At that point, Evans called another recess.

In videos tweeted by Ottawa Citizen reporter Jacquie Miller at the meeting, a room full of people — some masked and others draped in the Canada flag and wearing jackets with 'Freedom' etched onto them — can be seen.

In other videos posted by Miller, a police officer is seen escorting a woman out, as some audience members clap. Others shush the crowd. Later, people are heard singing the national anthem, chanting "freedom" as trustees huddle, and are seen leaving the room under direction from an Ottawa police officer.

Trustees continued their meeting just before 9 p.m., after members of the public were asked to leave.

A CBC reporter was barred from entering the meeting room at the time.

Three police cruisers were stationed in front of the meeting building throughout the evening. 

In response, Kaplan-Myrth posted on Twitter Tuesday night that she's "disgusted that anti-maskers' tactics prevailed."

"They chanted like an angry mob," she continued. "To those who think that your disrespectful conduct is a 'win,' Ottawa children who get sick are your victims."

Parents divided, emotional

Salma Al-Shehabi, a mother who presented her perspective virtually with her son by her side, requested trustees refrain from implementing mandate masks, citing the importance of children's ability to communicate freely.

She suggested a solution for parents and children concerned about rising respiratory illnesses in the community would be to turn to online learning.

Al-Shehabi said masking "was a personal choice," citing the Ontario Health Ministry's stance. She also noted Moore appeared maskless at an event last week — only days after he "strongly" recommended masks in indoor public settings.

Blake Maguire, a father of four, explained in person how masking has affected his kids. 

"I've noticed anxiety, I noticed depression, my A-student became a C-student," said Maguire, getting emotional. "They're not good for kids right now."

Meanwhile, Carolyn Moffatt, a mother of four students, made a virtual presentation in favour of the mask mandate.

Moffatt, who said she was once a midwife with neonatal ICUs and a policy adviser who worked with influenza guidelines, pointed to the current strain on Ontario's children's hospitals due to a surge of respiratory illnesses.

"Do now what you did then. Help our community now," she pleaded with trustees, asking them to repeat their vote to mandate masks in April amid a sixth wave of COVID-19.

Can the board bring in another mandate?

Before the vote there were questions about whether the board could bring in a mandate for masks without Ottawa Public Health (OPH) doing it first.

OCDSB chair Evans disputed the province's claim that boards can't do this. The board does have the "legal authority" to implement a masking requirement, she said, but declined to add more, citing solicitor-client privilege.

In a statement to CBC, OPH said it's "pleased" with the province's strong recommendation that masks be worn in public settings, including schools, where possible.

An OPH spokesperson also wrote the health unit is not considering a local mask mandate right now.

"Given the province-wide challenge and benefits of a consistent approach, the province is in the best position to implement a mask mandate effectively," the statement added.

On Monday, a spokesperson for the Ottawa Catholic School Board said it highly recommends wearing masks, but without any "health-related legislation or orders," it can't enforce a mandate.