By: Shaun Fluker and Lorian Hardcastle
Decisions commented on: CM v Alberta, 2022 ABQB 462 (CanLII); CM v Alberta, 2022 ABQB 357 (CanLII)
PDF Version: For the Record: Who Makes COVID-19 Public Health Orders in Alberta?
In an effort to be a frontrunner in the race to remove COVID-19 public health measures during the early months of 2022, the Alberta government made several notable moves, including decisions on masking. On February 8, 2022, the Premier announced that children would no longer be required to wear masks in school as of February 14 and that children under 12 would not be required to mask anywhere. On the same day, the Minister of Education took the opportunity to issue her own written direction that “[A]s of February 14, 2022 school boards will not be empowered by provincial health order or recommendations from the CMOH to require ECS – grade 12 students to be masked to attend school in person or to ride a school bus.” This direction by the Minister was a notable departure from her earlier position that schools were explicitly permitted to implement public health measures to respond to their own local context.