The United Conservative government’s citing of cabinet confidentiality in refusing to disclose how it decided to lift a school mask mandate last winter is “thumbing its nose” at Albertans and a judge’s order, says a union leader.
© Ian Kucerak
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health.
And the documents the government did release earlier this week show the province disregarded research supporting the merits of masking in schools to control COVID-19 infections in favour of pandering to their political base, said Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan.
“It’s clear the government is still using cabinet confidentiality as a shield to deny access to relevant documents. … Albertans deserve to know why they lifted the mask mandate in the middle of the Omicron wave,” McGowan said Thursday.
“Even the documents we have do tell us the government was more interested in catering to the anti-mask protesters than ensuring public safety.”
A ruling last month by Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Grant Dunlop concluded Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health, must be more transparent in responding to demands by the Alberta Federation of Labour and five family plaintiffs for information explaining why the UCP government lifted the COVID-19 mask mandate on March 1.
Of particular interest to the court were records from a Feb. 8 cabinet meeting that dealt with the decision, which included a PowerPoint presentation conducted by Hinshaw.
But in response to why she can’t comply with the court’s order, Hinshaw signed off on a document stating it’s “subject to public interest immunity” as is a record of the cabinet meeting minutes from that meeting..png)
“However, Dr. Hinshaw and her staff have made best efforts to identify and provide the documents and information that were most critical and directly relevant to the decision,” states the document.
In another document, Justice Minister Tyler Shandro argues ditching cabinet confidentiality “could impede the free flow of discussion and injure the process of democratic governance.”
The disclosure also lists a litany of studies, articles and research on the value of masking, many of them indicating that face coverings have definite value in protecting the wider community and some merit within schools, though the latter isn’t as clear.
But Health Minister Jason Copping was told in a March 2 briefing note that data shows masking had made Alberta schools significantly safer, while noting their mandatory use had been discontinued over the previous two weeks.
“According to observed Alberta data, which could be influenced by factors other than masking, school boards without mask mandates at the start of the school year (September 2021) had three times more outbreaks in their schools in the first few months of the school year,” stated Susan Novak, policy and planning section chief.
“In addition, case and hospitalization rates per 100,000 population in Alberta for children five to 11 years old and adults 30 to 59 years old were lower in areas where mask mandates were required.”
The note went on to recommend that in lieu of masking, there be increases in other measures such as distancing and hygiene protocols and a continuation of symptom screening and vaccinations of eligible students and staff.
In a lengthy summary of research, Scott Fullmer, Alberta Health’s acting director of health evidence in policy, emphasized in places how face coverings were of at least some benefit.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control data, he said, “concluded the preponderance of the available evidence from U.S. schools that even when students were placed less than six feet apart, there was limited transmission when other layered prevention strategies were consistently maintained, notably masking and student cohorts.”
Another CDC study showed schools in U.S. counties without mandates saw the number of new COVID-19 infections more than double those that had imposed them.
Fullmer noted studies conducted in Utah starting last December suggested mask use in schools was a factor in reducing infection spread.
“Despite high community incidences and an inability to place classroom seats 6 ft. apart, this investigation found low (COVID-19) transmission and no school-related outbreaks in 20 Salt Lake County elementary schools with high student mask use and implementation of multiple strategies to limit transmission.”
But much of the data, he said, wasn’t able to pinpoint the precise impact of comprehensive masking policies when used with other measures like cohorts, hygiene protocols, spacing and improved ventilation.
Ontario Public Health determined use of masks in schools was associated with lower infection rates but “schools had layered prevention and control measures in place, so it was challenging to measure the independent impact of mask-wearing,” stated Fullmer.
And in some cases, such as in the United Kingdom, he said, research showed masking had little noticeable effect.
A Feb. 7 memo from Jason Kenney’s office to the premier is led off with what it calls the negative impact masks have on children and that the data on effectiveness is thin.
“There is insufficient direct evidence of the effectiveness of face masks in reducing COVID-19 transmission in education settings,” it states.
“Existing research supporting mask use in schools has limitations that make the pool of evidence weak and the benefits of masking children unclear.”
The memo cites research from countries like Spain that suggest masking had limited impact or was only effective when worn by school staff.
They go on to cite a number of jurisdictions in the U.S. and Europe that either ban mandatory face coverings in schools or don’t require them while stating children and young people are at low risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes.
But McGowan accused the government political staffers of “cherry-picking” data to suit Kenney’s political preferences and using opinion articles that don’t reflect the research.
“There’s next to nothing in these documents supporting lifting the mandate. … It’s pretty clear it made sense to maintain them,” he said.
McGowan said his group of plaintiffs, which includes families with immunocompromised children, has a week to file an application asking Dunlop to strip cabinet confidence in this case, and is considering it.
The overall case is scheduled to be heard again in Court of Queen’s Bench on Aug. 15.
Officials with Alberta Health didn’t respond to a request for comment.
BKaufmann@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn
And the documents the government did release earlier this week show the province disregarded research supporting the merits of masking in schools to control COVID-19 infections in favour of pandering to their political base, said Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan.
“It’s clear the government is still using cabinet confidentiality as a shield to deny access to relevant documents. … Albertans deserve to know why they lifted the mask mandate in the middle of the Omicron wave,” McGowan said Thursday.
“Even the documents we have do tell us the government was more interested in catering to the anti-mask protesters than ensuring public safety.”
A ruling last month by Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Grant Dunlop concluded Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health, must be more transparent in responding to demands by the Alberta Federation of Labour and five family plaintiffs for information explaining why the UCP government lifted the COVID-19 mask mandate on March 1.
Of particular interest to the court were records from a Feb. 8 cabinet meeting that dealt with the decision, which included a PowerPoint presentation conducted by Hinshaw.
But in response to why she can’t comply with the court’s order, Hinshaw signed off on a document stating it’s “subject to public interest immunity” as is a record of the cabinet meeting minutes from that meeting.
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“However, Dr. Hinshaw and her staff have made best efforts to identify and provide the documents and information that were most critical and directly relevant to the decision,” states the document.
In another document, Justice Minister Tyler Shandro argues ditching cabinet confidentiality “could impede the free flow of discussion and injure the process of democratic governance.”
The disclosure also lists a litany of studies, articles and research on the value of masking, many of them indicating that face coverings have definite value in protecting the wider community and some merit within schools, though the latter isn’t as clear.
But Health Minister Jason Copping was told in a March 2 briefing note that data shows masking had made Alberta schools significantly safer, while noting their mandatory use had been discontinued over the previous two weeks.
“According to observed Alberta data, which could be influenced by factors other than masking, school boards without mask mandates at the start of the school year (September 2021) had three times more outbreaks in their schools in the first few months of the school year,” stated Susan Novak, policy and planning section chief.
“In addition, case and hospitalization rates per 100,000 population in Alberta for children five to 11 years old and adults 30 to 59 years old were lower in areas where mask mandates were required.”
The note went on to recommend that in lieu of masking, there be increases in other measures such as distancing and hygiene protocols and a continuation of symptom screening and vaccinations of eligible students and staff.
In a lengthy summary of research, Scott Fullmer, Alberta Health’s acting director of health evidence in policy, emphasized in places how face coverings were of at least some benefit.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control data, he said, “concluded the preponderance of the available evidence from U.S. schools that even when students were placed less than six feet apart, there was limited transmission when other layered prevention strategies were consistently maintained, notably masking and student cohorts.”
Another CDC study showed schools in U.S. counties without mandates saw the number of new COVID-19 infections more than double those that had imposed them.
Fullmer noted studies conducted in Utah starting last December suggested mask use in schools was a factor in reducing infection spread.
“Despite high community incidences and an inability to place classroom seats 6 ft. apart, this investigation found low (COVID-19) transmission and no school-related outbreaks in 20 Salt Lake County elementary schools with high student mask use and implementation of multiple strategies to limit transmission.”
But much of the data, he said, wasn’t able to pinpoint the precise impact of comprehensive masking policies when used with other measures like cohorts, hygiene protocols, spacing and improved ventilation.
Ontario Public Health determined use of masks in schools was associated with lower infection rates but “schools had layered prevention and control measures in place, so it was challenging to measure the independent impact of mask-wearing,” stated Fullmer.
And in some cases, such as in the United Kingdom, he said, research showed masking had little noticeable effect.
A Feb. 7 memo from Jason Kenney’s office to the premier is led off with what it calls the negative impact masks have on children and that the data on effectiveness is thin.
“There is insufficient direct evidence of the effectiveness of face masks in reducing COVID-19 transmission in education settings,” it states.
“Existing research supporting mask use in schools has limitations that make the pool of evidence weak and the benefits of masking children unclear.”
The memo cites research from countries like Spain that suggest masking had limited impact or was only effective when worn by school staff.
They go on to cite a number of jurisdictions in the U.S. and Europe that either ban mandatory face coverings in schools or don’t require them while stating children and young people are at low risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes.
But McGowan accused the government political staffers of “cherry-picking” data to suit Kenney’s political preferences and using opinion articles that don’t reflect the research.
“There’s next to nothing in these documents supporting lifting the mandate. … It’s pretty clear it made sense to maintain them,” he said.
McGowan said his group of plaintiffs, which includes families with immunocompromised children, has a week to file an application asking Dunlop to strip cabinet confidence in this case, and is considering it.
The overall case is scheduled to be heard again in Court of Queen’s Bench on Aug. 15.
Officials with Alberta Health didn’t respond to a request for comment.
BKaufmann@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn
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