On July 20, 2020, Nova Scotian parents, guardians,  teachers,  and students were presented with a back to school plan. It was created with input from various experts,  including doctors from the well-respected IWK hospital in Halifax,  NS.

This plan was reasonable and safe based on Nova Scotia's current epidemiology and the recommendations issued by various global experts on the health, safety,  and psychological needs of children around the world. 

Nova Scotia is in an enviable position as far as COVID-19 is concerned.  At this point the few cases we've had in the last couple of months are travel related;there have been no cases attributed to unknown asymptomatic individuals,  and no deaths in a couple of months as well. 

The initial back-to-school plan reflected this and many parents and teachers felt it was a good balance of normalcy for our children while using reasonable caution when deemed wise (masks during class changes,  cohorting to allow children to socialize and play while limiting contact between groups).

It wasn't long before pressure from the unions and parents prompted Zack Churchill to backpedal on the plan and with little warning,  and no scientific data to back his decision, he announced masks on all children grades 4-12 if strict social distancing cannot be maintained,  children must face forward in their desks at all times, and when questioned about air quality he said windows can be opened, even in winter.

Dr. Strang cited one study that suggests children age 10+ can spread the virus like an adult.  He offered no other scientific evidence that supported this about face at the 11th hour.

Children in rural areas can have close to a 1 hour bus ride each way; combined with a 6 hour school day our government is now demanding that children wear masks for potentially 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

Parents who are afraid of their child being infected at school as well as the teachers union have pressed hard for this. But NO studies have been done to show the effects of masking children for that many hours a day, 5 days a week. It is the government's responsibility to prove that what they are mandating for our children is not harmful,  either physically or psychologically.  

Some parents are quick to point out that frontline and healthcare workers are wearing masks every day with no ill effects. First of all, kids are not adults and we cannot assume this is equally "safe" . Secondly,  there are healthcare and retail workers who have tried to share stories of their extreme side effects from being masked all day but they have repeatedly been shamed and silenced.  

If you want to mask our children for 30-40 hours per week then prove to us, with per reviewed research, that our children will not be harmed by it. 

The WHO, UNICEF, Health Canada, Sick Kids Hospital in TO, and experts around the world all preface ANY mitigation effort, mandate or guidelines with the fact that these decisions should be based on LOCAL EPIDEMIOLOGY. This means the requirement for: masks, lockdowns, family "bubbles", and measures which effect our children mentally and physically,  MUST BE BASED ON LOCAL EPIDEMIOLOGY.  

WHO guidance on masks as it pertains to children. They don't have a direct school policy but there are key points:

- Children 5 and under should not wear masks, period
- Children 6 - 11, the first consideration is whether rates of transmission are high in the area the child resides. Other factors include their ability to wear one, adult supervision and impact on psycho-social development
- Children 12 and older should wear one based on adult guidelines, namely is 1m of distancing can't be achieved AND rates of transmission are high.

Again, note that high rates of transmission is a key factor in putting children in masks. By this standard even masks on buses aren't necessary but most parents were willing to cooperate on this matter.

https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-children-and-masks-related-to-covid-19

Research has been released over the last couple of months that shows:

*Children are the least at risk age demographic.

*There is not one recorded case of a child infecting a teacher WORLDWIDE. 

*The WHO admits there is little, if any, sound research into the efficacy of non-medical masks and only advises them in areas of high rates of transmission.

In addition to global evidences being shared we KNOW that in Nova Scotia daycares and day-homes have been open for months...some never closed even during the height of transmission in our province. 

Any child with working parents/guardians and not able to stay at home by themselves, whether because of age or other factors, has been in childcare.  Yet we have seen no spike in cases due to children playing together,  sharing toys, spending hours together inside daycare facilities or private homes with mixed age groups of children. 

Where is the spike in cases from daycare?

There was none.

If the government is going to make decisions that directly affect and INHIBIT the rights & freedoms of our children, as well as directly affect their psychological and emotional development then the onus is on the government to provide the clear scientific evidence that backs these decisions. We have requested it, but emails,  tweets, and letters have been ignored. 

All we've been told in vague public statements is that the "evolving epidemiology" has now made masking mandatory for school children in a province with NO community spread. 

If the government is going to place this kind of oppressive requirement on children as young as 9 years old for as long as 6-8 hours of their day then there should be no problem providing the data that supports this mandate that is a sudden and unwarranted deviation from the original back-to-school plan.

As parents and guardians it is both our right and privelage to make medical,  health, social, and educational decisions for our children.  For any democratic government to supercede the inalienable rights of parents in this country there needs to be clear and scientifically supported data that is freely shared publicly. Parents/guardians should not have to beg our government to allow us to make health and safety choices for our own children. 

Our children are not hostages in a negotiation and we will not allow them to be used as such. This is unfair and unnecessary, to hold families in this state of stress and uncertainty while people use this opportunity to make demands that are not even pertinent here, with no community spread, and only a few travel related cases in months.

Even in our Atlantic bubble our government has solely chosen to take this heavy handed approach when our neighboring provinces recognize they didn't need to subscribe to it and have opted not to mandate such draconian measures. 

If fear is driving the agenda then it is time for those in government here to provide information that instills confidence in parents and teachers so that school can resume with confidence. If you were confident sending children back on July 20, WITHOUT MASKS INSIDE THEIR CLASSROOMS,  then stand by that decision. There are MANY of us who are confident in sending them back without covering their mouths and noses for HOURS a day knowing that any potential outbreak of covid-19 would be quickly dealt with within the individual school without affecting every child in the province...just as it would have been when daycares reopened. 

We are asking that a revised plan be issued that is founded on

EVIDENCE - NOT EMOTION

and

FACTS - NOT FEAR

based on the July 20 plan as well as CURRENT epidemiology. 

Stop masking children. There is a vast difference between fear and caution.  Stop caving to pressure from a vocal minority who have been misled to believe that life must be lived with zero risk or postponed indefinitely.

We will no longer submit to allowing mental and physical harm to our children in the name of appeasing every fear that lurks around the corner. It is time to embrace life again.  We adhered to every directive handed down to us over the last 5-6 months because we wanted our children to be free to get back to a sense of normalcy. 

The current plan and the ensuing demands from those who would use children as bargaining chips are not acceptable. With every compromise their demands grow bolder and less realistic or reasonable. 

We are teachers, truckers, retail workers,  healthcare workers,  professionals and stay-at-home parents. We are grandparents,  aunts,  uncles and neighbors.  We are not reckless,  careless,  or foolish.  We have been watching the situation unfold and now is our time to be heard.  

We want the Government of Nova Scotia, and all parties involved in making decisions surrounding public health, to know that we are no longer going to be silent on this matter.

We want the back-to-school plan to revert to that released on July 20th with refinements made based on our current epidemiology.