Who is going to stand up for B.C.'s immunocompromised K-12 students?

One of the best-known newspaper articles in world history carried a simple title: "J'accuse...!".

Written by French journalist, novelist, and playwright Émile Zola, it was an open letter condemning the French govermment in 1898 for practising antisemitism in response to the jailing of a Jewish army officer.

Zola picked apart the conviction of Alfred Dreyfus, leading to a libel charge against him.

The article you're reading is never going to be as famous as "J'accuse...!" Nor do I expect to be sued or charged criminally for libel because I'm not insulting anyone for deliberately putting kids in harm's way.

But it's written in the spirit of Zola, a fearless truth teller who should serve as a model for journalists around the world.

This article was prompted by a recent court decision in Virginia.

A federal judge, Norman Moon, reportedly ruled in favour of families of 12 immunocompromised students in a case involving mask mandates.

Moon declared that the state's mask-optional law violates the students' legal rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

https://twitter.com/AugensteinWTOP/status/1506927765899075584?ref_src=tw...

"The judge's ruling says the parents of those 12 students—the plaintiffs in that particular lawsuit—should be allowed to at least ask their children's schools to consider requiring others to wear masks," WTOP radio reporter Neal Augenstein said on Twitter.

"Judge Norman Moon said the affected students' schools are not allowed to enforce Virginia's new law because the new law forbids even the possibility of asking for some required masking as a possible accommodation that's guaranteed under the ADA."

B.C. has disability legislation

The Americans With Disabilities Act does not apply to B.C., of course. But last year, the B.C. legislature passed the Accessible British Columbians Act.

"We are committed to supporting people with disabilities to meaningfully participate in their communities," the B.C. government states on its website. "To support this, the Government of B.C. has passed accessibility legislation."

The government website included this statement: 

"We know that barriers related to learning and communication have a major impact on people’s ability to enjoy full and equal participation in their communities. The new law will help government to address barriers related to learning and communication as well as other barriers."

It led to the creation of an 11-member Provincial Accessibility Committee, which works to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities and supports the implementation of the Accessible British Columbians Act.

The B.C. NDP government also reinstated the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner.

Yet despite this government hoopla about its great concern for people with disabilities and human rights, it has scrapped a provincewide mask mandate in K-12 schools.

That has some parents saying they will pull their immunocompromised kids out of classes because they're at far higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19.

The strongest voice of opposition to this insane public policy has been Safe Schools Coalition B.C.

In a March 21 open letter to education stakeholders, unions, and policymakers, it pointed out that the vaccination rate for kids from 5 to 11 is just 56 percent with one or two doses.

Kids from 0 to 4—often siblings of school-age children—have no protection from vaccinations.

"Study after study show that COVID-19 is a vascular disease, not a respiratory one, and that it results in damage to the brain, heart, lungs, nerves, and other organs, even after mild cases," Safe Schools Coalition B.C. stated in the letter.

"Education leaders must recognize that public schools are unique in this pandemic," the letter continues. "Public schools are NOT a place where families and children can 'manage their own risk.' 

"It is not the same as choosing to dine indoors at a restaurant or go to a movie theatre with unmasked people. Children must attend school. Since equitable online programs were cut this school year, children and staff must attend a physical space for extended periods of time, with possibly unmasked occupants, creating an impossible situation for higher risk families, including those who are immunocompromised or live in multi-generational households." 

It went on to say that public schools are supposed to be equitable and safe for all.

"If rules can be set for peanut-free schools, so that those with severe peanut allergies can avoid exposure, then the same needs to be done for students who themselves or whose families face higher risk from catching this virus." 

Airborne COVID hits some harder than others

Earlier this year, University of Toronto health researcher Colin Furness spelled out the dangers for immunocompromised kids in a Protect Our Province B.C. webinar.

He pointed out that children and youths with diabetes are 6.6 times as likely to suffer serious COVID complications in comparison to those without compromised immunity.

Those born prematurely have a 3.7-times higher chance of enduring serious COVID, Furness noted. Those with compromised immune systems are 3.5 times as likely and those with asthma are twice as likely to develop serious COVID.

In B.C., these kids are simply out of luck in our public school system—even though Premier John Horgan has finally admitted that COVID-19 is an airborne illness.

That's because nobody within the system is standing up for immunocompromised kids by calling for a reinstatement of mask mandates.

This is why j'accuse the following people of failing these children and youths.

1. B.C. school trustees are showing no eagerness to introduce motions to reinstate the mask mandate in their districts, even though they have a legal right to do this as employers. Not one Vancouver trustee has responded to the Straight's emailed question on this topic, which was sent two weeks ago.

2. B.C. Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender has remained silent on this issue. The Straight asked for an interview on March 13 "about the impact of lifting mask mandates on people with disabilities". She did not make herself available.

3. The minister of social development and poverty reduction, Nicholas Simons, introduced the Accessible British Columbia Act. He has said nothing publicly about the elimination of mask mandates in schools.

4. The 11 members of the Provincial Accessibility Committee have not issued a public proclamation about the impact of the elimination of mask mandates in schools on immunocompromised kids. You can learn the committee members' names here.

5. Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside has said nothing about the impact of the scrapping of mask mandates on students who are at higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19 due to compromised immunity.

6. Attorney General David Eby is the chief legal adviser to cabinet under the Attorney General Act. He's the legal eyes and ears of cabinet. In the wake of the Virginia court ruling—not to mention this N.I.H.-funded study—will he finally speak publicly about the impact of mask-optional schools on children at higher risk of serious COVID? Don't count on it.

7. The opposition Liberals have not uttered a peep about the scrapping of mask mandates in schools. The health critic is Shirley Bond. Stephanie Cadieux is the critic for accessibility. Karin Kirkpatrick is the critic for education. Mike de Jong is the critic for the attorney general.

8. B.C. human rights lawyers have been stunningly silent on the scrapping of mask mandates as it pertains to immunocompromised children. Where is the Canadian Bar Association, which is often so eager to submit documents to governments on other topics?

It's understandable that parents of immunocompromised children are enraged at Horgan, Health Minister Adrian Dix, and Dr. Bonnie Henry for the lifting of the mask mandates in K-12 schools.

But let's not forget about all of those who have been in a position to do something, but have not spoken out to date.

Update #1

Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender was asked for an interview on March 13. On March 14, her office responded and stated that it would have something later in the week. On March 18, the office followed up with an email saying that the commissioner was away from March 21 to 25 but would comment upon her return. The commissioner objected to being described as an "enabler" so the Straight has removed this description of her from this article.

Update #2

More than three months after this article appeared, Govender had not done anything publicly about this situation beyond writing a letter to Dr. Bonnie Henry on March 16 expressing concerns about the "hasty" end of the provincewide mask mandate. The letter was released publicly nearly two weeks later. This July 3 column raised the question whether Govender should order a public inquiry under the Human Rights Code into the effect of the government's COVID policies on the immunocompromised.