Ottawa school board trustee to introduce new mandatory mask motion

An Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustee says he will be introducing a motion to implement a mask mandate amid record-breaking COVID-19 levels.

Trustee Mark Fisher said in a tweet Saturday morning that he would be introducing a motion to require masks in all OCDSB buildings as soon as possible.

It’s unclear when the motion will come before the board. Fisher told CTV News Ottawa he gave notice Saturday and won’t have a chance to discuss it with the board chair or staff until Monday.

The next committee of the whole meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Fisher previously told Newstalk 580 CFRA he’s in favour of keeping masks on.

"Masking for me is probably the simplest action, the simplest health measure that we can take in addition to ventilation and just good hand hygiene and what have you and distancing at school. It's just a very simple thing that we could do," Fisher said Friday.

Ontario government data show high rates of absences in local schools, with 20 OCDSB schools alone having more than 20 per cent of staff and students absent as of Friday morning. Not all reported absences are related to COVID-19. The province and the school boards no longer provide figures of students or staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 on a PCR test due to restrictions on testing eligibility.

Last month, the board failed to maintain a mask mandate in the face of its removal at the provincial level. The vote held March 14, one week before the end of the provincial mandate, failed in a 6-6 tie.

Ottawa mayor Jim Watson is calling on the provincial government to reinstate the mask mandate that was lifted in March. Local health officials are strongly encouraging mask use indoors. 

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle.