MLA calls on New Brunswick to resume masking in schools
NOTE: This article was updated on Friday, April 29, 2022 at approximately 3:20 p.m. to include a response from the provincial Department of Health.
Sackville’s MLA says the province should reinstate masking in schools, following a recommendation from the New Brunswick Child and Youth Advocate.
The provincial government removed COVID-19 protections on March 14 – including the mask mandate in public schools – just as children returned from March Break.
That’s when the province ended its state of emergency for the second time since the global pandemic hit New Brunswick more than two years ago.
On Friday, child and youth advocate Kelly Lamrock released a report calling for the government to “revert to the status quo that existed when the flawed decision” to lift the mask mandate came down, and to review the decision.
The inquiry found there was an “overreliance on following other provinces without providing evidence, projections and measurements that would justify the Public Health recommendation.”
For more on this story, CHMA spoke to Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton, the Green Party’s health and education critic.
Mitton said she’s been hearing from parents and teachers who are concerned about their health and safety since the province lifted the mask mandate. “There’s a real sense of feeling abandoned,” she said.
You can hear the full interview here:
In an email, Bruce Macfarlane, communications director for the Department of Health, provided the following statement:
“Health recognizes the importance of empowering children and families to make choices regarding when to wear a mask and accepting and supporting all children whether they wear a mask or not.… Continue
Wednesday on TR: Mitton’s call for more measures; false hospital rumours and surveillance cameras in Sackville; dire projections for Omicron wave in NB
On today’s Tantramar Report:
We recap the dire projections shared by New Brunswick public health epidemiologist Mathieu Chalifoux at a briefing on Tuesday, and the explanation from medical officer of health Jennifer Russell on why the province will not yet be moving to level 3 of its winter plan.
We bring you some highlights from Monday’s Sackville town council meeting, including words of caution from Mayor Shawn Mesheau about rumours of an imminent closure of the Sackville hospital, and plans to upgrade town facilities with facial recognition cameras.
We hear from some local parents as classes resume for another two weeks of online schooling for their kids.
We also hear from Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton about why she thinks New Brunswick should be upping public health restrictions as case counts skyrocket.
And last but not least, with extremely cold temperatures hitting New Brunswick on Tuesday, NB Power asked residents to reduce their energy consumption at peak hours. The utility says that during periods of peak energy demand, it uses its “most expensive and least green energy to power New Brunswick.” Peak demand generally happens between 6am and 9am and between 4pm and 8pm.
To help avoid using peak energy, NB Power recommends residents turn down the heat in rooms they’re not using, take shorter showers or move them to later in the day.… Continue
Tantramar Report Year in Review: MLA Megan Mitton
Today on Tantramar Report we feature another year in review interview, this time with Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton. We cover just some of the topics that Mitton encountered in 2021, including health care reform, changing border regulations, working with a majority government, and impending municipal reform. All that and she had another baby, which meant making some changes to how things are done in New Brunswick’s provincial legislature, to make it more feasible for MLAs who are parents.
“Put aside the pension issue” to end dispute, says Mitton
Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton says Premier Blaine Higgs should set aside the issue of pensions in order to get CUPE workers back on the job. “The premier needs to go back to the negotiating table,” says Mitton. “There are people across the province who are experiencing everything from an inconvenience to a hardship, because of the worker action that he has forced.”
Speaking on behalf of the Green caucus, Mitton says, “we’re calling on the Premier to go back to the negotiating table, and to put aside the pension issue for a later date.”
Higgs has said that “fixing pensions is a requirement,” to resolving the current dispute.
The government has proposed to transform pensions for two CUPE locals to shared risk style pensions, where the costs and benefits can fluctuate according to how the plan performs investment-wise. The shared risk model would relieve the government of having to make up shortfalls in the pension plans. The plan would also mean that cost of living increases in benefits would be contingent on the performance of the pension fund.
In addition to converting pensions for two locals, Higgs has offered to add educational assistants to the plan.
Higgs has long been a fan of the shared risk model, and transformed some public pensions back in 2013, when he was finance minister in David Alward’s government. The changes were supported by some unions at the time, but also met with considerable opposition from pensioners who saw their benefits at risk of decreasing.… Continue
Wednesday on Tantramar Report: Accessible housing is scarce in Sackville; Mitton on first day of legislature; COVID testing falls behind
Listen to Tantramar Report for the following stories:
Mitton talks fall legislature priorities
The provincial legislature reconvened on Tuesday, and hundreds of CUPE strikers marched to the legislature for the opening. Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton joins us on Tantramar Report to report back on the first day, talk about her priorities for the next two months, and weigh in on what is needed to end the CUPE strike. Read more about what Megan Mitton had to say in our web story here.
Accessible housing is scarce, and causing a crisis within a crisis
Finding housing is difficult enough these days without the added challenges of accessibility needs and low income. Rachael Hanakowski has been in search of an affordable and accessible apartment in Sackville since June. She and her partner Jack are in a catch-22, needing stable housing in order to sustain employment, and needing stable employment income in order to afford accessible housing. On Tantramar Report, we talk with Hanakowski and Ability NB, in search of solutions to the problem.
COVID updates: active cases drop, but so does testing
Public Health reported 40 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, with 14 of those cases in Zone 1. Ten of the new cases in Zone 1 are under investigation, and four are known contacts of previous cases. There are now 470 active cases in the province and 184 of those are in Zone 1.… Continue
Mitton calls for investigation, but Drew chair calls for a “pause” on reviewing what’s happened
Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton is calling for a formal, independent investigation into the the outbreak of COVID-19 at the Drew Nursing home in Sackville.
“We’ve had eight deaths at the Drew Nursing Home,” says Mitton, extending condolences to those who lost loved ones. “We’ve had many residents and staff who have contracted the virus. And so the thing is, we need to know whether the government’s response was adequate, and what went wrong here.”
Catherine Gaw is the chair of the board for the United Church Home for Senior Citizens, which operates the Drew Nursing Home. Gaw issued a press statement on Wednesday outlining the situation and calling for a “pause” on scrutinizing what’s happened.
“At this point in time we would urge everyone to push pause on any calls for a review of the process,” writes Gaw. “Please know that the Executive Director, Linda Shannon, is in regular meetings with medical and government officials and the workings of the response efforts are monitored constantly. The important thing is to support the ongoing efforts to bring this outbreak to a resolution.”
It’s been just over a month since the first case in the outbreak was discovered at the Drew on September 13. According to accounts from staff, Public Health did not complete testing on all staff and residents until five days later, on Saturday, September 18.… Continue
Megan Mitton starts maternity leave, staff to fill in while she’s gone
Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton has announced that she’s on maternity leave. Mitton posted to Facebook yesterday saying that as her due date approaches, the time to step back from her work temporarily has come.
Mitton says she and her staff have spent several months planning and preparing for the transition, and her constituency office will remain open for people to call or email during her leave, with staff available to respond.
“While I won’t be the one responding, I have the utmost faith and confidence in my staff,” wrote Mitton.
Her constituency office will have increased staff resources to help cover her leave.
Mitton also won’t be as active on social media during her leave, but says her, “team will keep it active to ensure you stay updated.”
“My staff and I appreciate your patience as we navigate welcoming a new baby into the life of an MLA,” she wrote.
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