Critics accuse B.C. government of passing the buck on school vaccination mandates
The B.C. government has formed a committee that will advise individual school boards on how they can bring in vaccine mandates for teachers and other school staff in their districts. But critics say it should be a province-wide mandate.
“They’re asking the boards to do it. Well that’s just, in my opinion, an abdication of responsibility: 'If I pass the buck to the school boards, the public will leave me alone,'” said Victoria parent Elizabete Costa.
Surrey teacher Lizanne Foster argues the district-by-district approach doesn’t make sense.
“We’ve got 60 school districts. Are 60 school districts now going to one-by-one go through some process to determine whether and how they’re going to mandate vaccines?” Foster said.
Both Costa and Foster are worried by leaving it up to individual school boards, there will be a patchwork of vaccine mandates across the province.
“And what’s the government going to do with boards that don’t want to impose that mandate, don’t want to have the discussion, and don’t want the pushback from some parents in the community that don’t believe in vaccines?” said Costa.
Foster said while she feels confident the Surrey School District’s approach, “I know other teachers across the province are in districts that may not be comfortable with the district having the power to determine this. It’s a province-wide education system, and the province should have that determination.”
After initially only giving individual school districts the ability to mandate masks for students in kindergarten through Grade 3, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry bowed to public pressure and made it province-wide last week. Advocates hope that happens again with vaccine mandates in schools.
“They should lead on this. What the worst thing that's going to happen?” said Costa. “If somebody does not want to be vaccinated when they work with children, they’re not in the right profession, in my opinion.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.