To mask or not to mask: that’s not even a question for the more than 220 people who signed an online petition demanding Prairie Valley School Division drop its mandatory requirement on many students attending in-school classes to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The petition, organized by Sedley resident Scott Leier, asks the division “to remove the mask mandates, and make them optional, at schools within the Prairie Valley School Division in Saskatchewan.”
In making the request the petition adds: “Parents have the right to their own decision regarding issues that impact their child’s mental and physical wellbeing.”
Leier declined comment when reached by the Forum. Another of the petition’s supporters, Sedley-area resident Carrie Bechard however, said her views had not changed as a result of the recent COVID-19 outbreak among students in Yorkton.
“Number 1, COVID in Yorkton, I don’t believe the kids got it at school,” Bechard said. “I just think the masks, period are bull---t. COVID isn’t going anywhere. What are we going to do? Wear masks forever until there’s a vaccine which I for sure won’t put in my body, nor my children’s bodies? I refuse to wear a mask. I have never worn one and won’t.”
Bechard said it should be an individual’s decision whether to wear a mask, be tested for COVID-19, or receive a vaccine when one becomes available. She added parents should decide whether their children wear masks, are tested for COVID-19 or are vaccinated.
“It’s a right,” Bechard said “I don’t care if other people choose to wear a mask, but I believe it’s my choice, not someone else’s. My mind has not changed one iota on this.
“If someone tried to test my child without my permission, there would be heads rolling. Absolutely not.”
In an emailed statement to the Forum, Prairie Valley School Division’s director of education, Luc Lerminiaux, said “We acknowledge there are anxieties in our communities with the return to in-class learning and the new protocols implemented in schools across the province. The masking policy in Prairie Valley follows Level 2 of the provincial Safe Schools Plan and the direction of the provincial Chief Medical Health Officer. Level 2 includes the requirement for staff and students to wear a mask on busses, in high traffic areas, and where two-metre distancing cannot be maintained for a long period of time. Throughout the day, there are absolutely opportunities where students will not have to wear a mask.”
Lerminiaux added in the opening days of the school year, “Students and families have been incredibly supportive of our schools, staff and the protocols, including the masking policy.”
Lerminiaux said any changes to the existing plan would come at the direction of provincial health officials, and that school officials would listen to parental concerns while, “ensuring we continue to do what is in the best interest of our students, staff and school communities.”
