B.C. defends mask mandate removal after human rights commissioner raises concerns

The B.C. government is defending its decision to lift the indoor mask mandate following concerns raised by the province’s human rights commissioner that the change disproportionately affects the most medically vulnerable.

In a letter sent to provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on March 16, a week after the mandate was lifted, commissioner Kasari Govender called the decision “hasty.”

“I think we have moved too quickly,” Govender said in an interview with CTV News on Monday. “Requiring masks is really a minimal impairment, and we balance the hassle of wearing a mask against the serious life-and-death, or serious illness risks for those who are immune-compromised, and it just doesnt balance out. The balance is in favour of continuing the mask mandate.”

On Tuesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said the decision was carefully considered.

“The guidance continues to be to wear a mask in indoor spaces. It’s just changed in an important way. It’s not the law. It’s not a legal requirement under a provincial health order now,” Dix said. “The vulnerability of people, I think, is central in our focus on all matters, including this one.”

Jeremy Franta of Ladner said he was “incredibly surprised” when the mandate was lifted.

“It’s astounding to me the carelessness of the thought process in all of this,” he said. “There’s a huge percentage of this province that’s been left to fend for ourselves.”

The 50-year-old father is undergoing chemotherapy for multiple myeloma, and said these days just going to the store has him calculating the risk.

“I’m looking at masks. I’m listening for coughs,” he said. “Half the time I have to leave, because I’m terrified I’m literally risking my life to go into a common store.”

Without a mask mandate in schools, Vancouver resident Chantal Moore’s 10-year-old, who has asthma, has so far stayed home.

“I don’t believe that it’s too much of a burden to ask people to wear a mask,” she said, and added the lack of a requirement has led to increased concerns about going out. “When I go to the grocery store, am I going to bring this home to my daughter? Am I going to bring COVID home to my son, who’s a toddler and unable to be vaccinated?”

Moore would like to see a mandate reinstated for essential public places, such as transit, schools, and grocery stores.

“Places where people with health conditions have no choice but to visit,” she said. “I would ask (people) to have more of a community mindset, to think about others. Just a small gesture you can do every day to keep those around you safe.”

Franta would also like to see the mandate return.

“I do believe that lots of people care. It just doesn’t seem at times we’re thought of,” he said. “Do it for the elderly person down the street. Do it for your neighbour. Do it for others.”