B.C.'s largest school district won't mandate COVID-19 vaccines for staff
The elected board for the largest school district in B.C. has decided it will not mandate COVID-19 vaccines for teachers and support staff.
Surrey school board vice-chair Terry Allen said trustees were told by Fraser Health that because of the region’s high vaccination rate, the mandate isn’t necessary.
“We followed health direction all along as far as K-12 for masks and so on, and we follow health now. And if health doesn’t believe it’s a necessary requirement, then that really is the basis of our decision,” said Allen.
Surrey’s parent advisory council wanted the mandate, and is disappointed the school board won’t act.
“We were hoping this decision went the other way,” said Surrey DPAC member Rani Senghera. “We were also I think hoping that this decision came from the ministry instead of letting school boards decide.”
Surrey Teachers Association president Matt Westphal said teachers would have supported the mandate.
“We are not surprised that the school district has decided not to order a vaccine mandate, and this is precisely the problem with how the Ministry of Education has passed the buck onto school districts,” said Westphal.
Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside said any province-wide school vaccine mandate would have to come from Dr. Bonnie Henry.
“Absent a public health order in this regard, boards of education, as employers of employees who work in our school system, make the decisions about what to do with respect to policies for their workforce,” said Whiteside.
Surrey's school board decided a mandate could do more harm than good.
“If we had five per cent of our staff not vaccinated and the mandate was in place, that would be 600 staff that wouldn’t be available for the Surrey school system. So the impact on the classroom would be huge,” said Allen.
Senghera said while she knows there could be a staffing crunch, she also believes "children’s safety should come first at this point, especially when we are all doing our part to keep them safe.”
New Westminster’s school board has also decided against a vaccine mandate for teachers and support staff. The president of Vancouver’s district parent advisory council Gord Lau said it’s a worrying trend.
“The reason we are seeing these decisions made by districts is because the province has abdicated their responsibility to make that mandate and provide resources to other districts to support that mandate,” said Lau, who hopes Vancouver’s board bucks the trend and requires vaccination at school.
It’s expected other B.C. school districts will announce their decisions on school vaccine mandates in the coming days.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Golf season a summer tourism driver in Canada
Golf is a sign of spring and summer and a major driver for seasonal tourism, experts say.