Sudbury parent says province's plan to lift mask mandates in school 'premature'

A Sudbury parent said she has concerns about the province's plan to lift mask mandates in school.

This week, the provincial government announced as of March 21, masks will no longer be required in most indoor settings in Ontario, including restaurants, retail, fitness centres, grocery stores and schools.

Sara Kitler-Pothier has two children, including one who is autistic. 

"I think it's a little bit premature," she said of the province's plan.

"It seems to lean a little bit more political and in my opinion, politics has no place in the public health realm."

Kitler-Pothier said it was a challenge to get her children to wear masks, especially her son who has autism.

"Our kids are still very vulnerable," she said.

"And whether it's COVID or colds or flus, we know that masks work as an extra line of defence to protect our kids and particularly vulnerable populations, particularly with children with disabilities."

Kitler-Pothier said she understands it's up to individuals to decide whether to wear a mask after March 21.

"It's a really difficult decision for parents to try and determine what's right. You know, are kids going to be singled out if they wear them, if they don't wear them?" she said. 

"A lot of parents are really worried about their children's mental health, and part of that is being bullied and things like that as well."

'Too fast and too soon'

Eric Laberge, president of District 3 of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, said he's been getting calls from members on both sides of the issue.

"We've got some that are looking forward to getting back to a return to some form of normalcy — like most of us in society; but there's probably an equal number that feel that this is too fast and too soon," he said.

He said his union is questioning the timing of the announcement, as the mask mandate will lift as students return from March break.

"We've got lots of families who are taking advantage of the ease in the travel restrictions and are rightfully going to take some time to get away and enjoy the time off, but not knowing how that's going to translate," he said.

"Coming back from the March break, which we would probably only see two weeks after the fact, makes a March 21 removal of the mask mandate to me a little premature," Laberge said.

Liana Holm, president of the Rainbow local of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, said she agrees the government's move was premature.

"In a system where we've already had so many disruptions, changing one more thing and one more variable before the end of this school year seems to be something that could create more disruption instead of less," she said.

Both unions said teachers can make their own decisions about whether to mask after March 21.