Protesters in Calgary call for boycott of first day of school due to mask mandate
About 50 protesters gathered outside the Calgary Board of Education headquarters in opposition of the mandatory mask mandate for children heading back to school Wednesday morning.
The group, with signs reading things like “Stop Suffocating Our Children,” then marched to the Calgary Catholic School District headquarters and remained peaceful, with a heavy police presence in suit.
“No one is saying you can’t send your kids to school with a mask, we’re saying it’s a choice and it’s a parent choice, it’s not a school board's or city councillor's choice,” said one mother at the protest with her son in attendance, who going into Grade 8.
Both the public and Catholic school boards decided to require masks for students and staff due to rising COVID-19 cases in the province and the quickly spreading, and highly contagious Delta variant.
Many doctors in the province have also called for more measures in schools leading up to the first day of class due to a lack of data on the long term effects COVID can have on kids.
Several protestors say the decision for a child to wear a mask to school or not should be left up to the parents.
“I have nothing against people who want to be vaccinated or walk around wearing a mask. I just want to have the choice and the freedom to choose for myself,” said Sandra Tennent.
The Catholic system sent a letter to parents this week saying if someone refuses their child wear a mask in school, some temporary options are available including a workspace setup elsewhere like the library, or they can register their child for online learning.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.