When the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) asked the province for more time to adjust to the removal of the mask mandate and saw their request denied, School Trustee Chris Moise called the dropped mandate a “grave mistake” in his own letter to the parents and guardians of Ward 10 University-Rosedale.
“One of my responsibilities as a school board trustee is ensure the well-being of our students and our staff,” said Moise. “We’re still in a pandemic, it’s not over. The numbers [COVID-19 cases] are rising in other communities, in other cities, in other countries.”
While the city has states that over 88 per cent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated, Moise said data in specific communities are showing lower vaccination rates.
“In pockets of my own ward, [they] are not equal,” he said.
According to recent data, vaccination rates are as low as 11 per cent in some areas of the downtown core.
Equity issues arise, according to Moise, as more marginalized, racialized groups are hit hardest by COVID-19.
Further, students from these groups tend to live in multigenerational homes, where one positive case can greatly affect the entire household. Despite the increase in vaccination rates, Moise said it is an unfair situation for students who are immunocompromised.
“We have vulnerable students in our communities with disabilities in our schools,” he said. “They are immune compromised, don’t they matter?”
“My job as a trustee is to not protect, you know, 80 per cent of the population, but 100 per cent of the population,” said Moise. “We are all not OK, when all of us are not OK.”
In terms of ensuring students and staff feel safe with most pandemic restrictions dropped, Moise is still encouraging them to keep their masks on and will continue to provide them in schools.
While it is a personal choice to wear one now, he said he is asking teachers to keep their masks on if some students in the class room choose to do so as well—this ensures no student feels excluded.
Overall, Moise said masking should not be the biggest concern for residents, calling it a “first world problem,” as other parts of the world still continue to struggle to collect enough vaccines for its populations.
Listen to Chris Moise’s full interview here:
