Ontario teachers' union, parents express concerns over the end of mandatory masking in schools
The province’s top doctor announced Wednesday that mask mandates in most public settings, including schools, will lift as of March 21.
The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) calls the decision premature.
“I know our educators want to be able to see the smiles of the students they’re interacting with and other educators, but we need to move with caution,” ETFO President Karen Brown told CTV News Toronto Wednesday.
Browns points to low vaccination rates among children age five to 11, classroom crowding and uneven ventilation as reasons for continued concern.
The Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) questions the timeline for dropping masks.
“We’re worried that this is following right after March Break when people tend to travel and there’s a lot of social interaction, so we think it would have been more prudent to wait at least a few weeks,” OECTA President Barb Dobrowolski said.
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) echoes concerns about the possibility of spiking cases and potential exposure to COVID-19 after the holiday.
“I think the government has taken a gamble here with the health and safety of the province,” OSSTF President Karen Littlewood said.
All three teachers’ unions are telling their members to do what feels safe to them, including wearing a mask and practicing physical distancing.
Some parents outside Markham’s Parkview Public School told CTV News Toronto Wednesday morning they will continue to send their kids to school with masks for now.
“Kids are getting used to it. I don’t really think they’re minding too much anymore so why not take precaution and keep it on a little bit longer,” one father said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.