Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry alluded to re-instituting province-wide mandates in the future, saying she will “keep those in our back pocket for those times when we might need to use them again,” however BC’s human rights commissioner says the time is now, and has written a letter to Henry calling for mask mandates to be restored..Kasari Govender prefaced her concerns with a thank you to Henry for her “thoughtful leadership throughout the pandemic,” before proceeding to criticize the “hasty” end to a provincial mask mandate which she says will have “profoundly unequal effects across society.”.“While many of us have the good fortune to simply move on with life, thousands of British Columbians will be left behind because orf their age, disability, or other protected characteristic under BC’s Human Rights Code,” writes Govender..“Some of us are more vulnerable than others to the virus, and public health policy must consider these disproportionate impacts.”.The vulnerable groups listed by Govender are “immuno-compromised.people, older people, indigenous and racialized people, people with disabilities, and low-income communities.” Govender also highlights children under the age of five cannot get vaccinated, yet will be “attending school without masks.”.She goes on to say it is understandable that people are tired of wearing masks, however the requirement is “minimally invasive.”.“The requirement to wear a mask in indoor public spaces is a comparatively minor infringement on an individual’s autonomy and an inconvenience in exercising one’s rights,” she said..“At this late stage in the pandemic, we must not turn our backs on our mutual responsibility to keep each other safe.”. Screen-Shot-2022-03-29-at-12.58.40-PM .Others have called for the return of forced masking in BC. On March 20 the Safe Schools Coalition BC said failure to implement a face-covering mandate “could be a human rights violation,” and demanded the province do so for K-12 education settings..As for post-secondary schools, the University of British Columbia has continued a mask mandate of its own, students and staff at other universities — such as Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria — demand the same..In addition to education settings, various businesses in BC still require staff and customers to cover their airways..“There will be a day where the mask mandate may be lifted, but that day is not yet here,” said Govender..The office of the human rights commissioner — which says it “wants to hear from you” — can be contacted here, and the commissioner can be reached here..“Your experiences, questions and concerns help us in our work to promote and protect human rights in our province,” writes the office..Reid Small is a BC-based reporter for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry alluded to re-instituting province-wide mandates in the future, saying she will “keep those in our back pocket for those times when we might need to use them again,” however BC’s human rights commissioner says the time is now, and has written a letter to Henry calling for mask mandates to be restored..Kasari Govender prefaced her concerns with a thank you to Henry for her “thoughtful leadership throughout the pandemic,” before proceeding to criticize the “hasty” end to a provincial mask mandate which she says will have “profoundly unequal effects across society.”.“While many of us have the good fortune to simply move on with life, thousands of British Columbians will be left behind because orf their age, disability, or other protected characteristic under BC’s Human Rights Code,” writes Govender..“Some of us are more vulnerable than others to the virus, and public health policy must consider these disproportionate impacts.”.The vulnerable groups listed by Govender are “immuno-compromised.people, older people, indigenous and racialized people, people with disabilities, and low-income communities.” Govender also highlights children under the age of five cannot get vaccinated, yet will be “attending school without masks.”.She goes on to say it is understandable that people are tired of wearing masks, however the requirement is “minimally invasive.”.“The requirement to wear a mask in indoor public spaces is a comparatively minor infringement on an individual’s autonomy and an inconvenience in exercising one’s rights,” she said..“At this late stage in the pandemic, we must not turn our backs on our mutual responsibility to keep each other safe.”. Screen-Shot-2022-03-29-at-12.58.40-PM .Others have called for the return of forced masking in BC. On March 20 the Safe Schools Coalition BC said failure to implement a face-covering mandate “could be a human rights violation,” and demanded the province do so for K-12 education settings..As for post-secondary schools, the University of British Columbia has continued a mask mandate of its own, students and staff at other universities — such as Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria — demand the same..In addition to education settings, various businesses in BC still require staff and customers to cover their airways..“There will be a day where the mask mandate may be lifted, but that day is not yet here,” said Govender..The office of the human rights commissioner — which says it “wants to hear from you” — can be contacted here, and the commissioner can be reached here..“Your experiences, questions and concerns help us in our work to promote and protect human rights in our province,” writes the office..Reid Small is a BC-based reporter for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
