‘Profoundly unequal’: BC Human Rights Commissioner says mask mandate end harmful to vulnerable people

B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner says the “hasty” end to mask mandates in the province disproportionately harms vulnerable people.

Expressing a concern about “profoundly unequal effects,” Kasari Govender has sent a letter to Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, saying “thousands of British Columbians will be left behind because of their age, disability, or other protected characteristic under B.C.’s Human Rights Code.”

“I do not believe it is in accordance with our human rights commitments for the government to advise those at high risk to take extra caution while at the same time ending policies that allowed us to share this burden more equitably across society,” Govender wrote.

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On March 10, with COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on the decline, Henry announced masks would no longer be mandated in most public, indoor settings. The policy change took effect the following day, with schools following suit when staff and kids returned from Spring Break.

Henry’s announcement followed similar policy changes in other provinces across the country. Masks are still required in health-care settings and at long-term care facilities.

“Since the decision to end the mask mandate, my Office has received several requests for comment,” the commissioner wrote in her public letter to Henry.

Noting some people are more vulnerable to COVID-19, Govender says “public health policy must consider these disproportionate impacts.” She says in this situation, marginalized groups include immunocompromised people, older people, Indigenous and racialized peoples, people with disabilities, and low-income communities.

“Without the assurance that those they encounter in public spaces will be masked, many seniors and people with disabilities will feel they must isolate themselves from society or risk their health. Indigenous people and racialized people are overrepresented in high-transmission work environments and are at greater risk because of higher incidences of chronic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.”

B.C. prioritizes clinically vulnerable, maintains health minister

On Tuesday, B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix defended the province’s move to lift the mandate when it did, adding it was an evidence-based decision.

“Nowhere in Canada have the needs of the clinically vulnerable been considered as the priority they have in B.C.,” he argued, noting B.C. gave COVID vaccination priority to many people considered at higher risk of serious illness from the virus.

People deemed “clinically extremely vulnerable” as well as those living in long-term care were among the first to get access to COVID shot.

Dix says the province gives “absolute priority” to the needs of the clinically vulnerable, “and that priority continues to be the case.”

Related video: End of B.C. mask mandate makes some immunocompromised feel unsafe

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      For his part, the health minister argues that though the the Mar. 10 announcement came the day before the mask mandate ended, it came after “considerable notice” that changes would be coming.

      “The provincial health officer said that these measures would be considered on a particular date, about a month in advance of the decision being made, so lots of notice was given,” Dix said, defending Henry’s approach to the mandate.

      “I think her decision and her consistent, thoughtful, balanced approach has been important.”

      There needs to be a balance, Dix says, between the need for public health measures and the impact they can have on everyone in the community.

      “People who are clinically vulnerable in B.C. … have a provincial health officer that has focused on their interest every moment throughout this pandemic … and considers every step and every decision that she makes.”

      ‘People don’t give a crap about other people’: Leukemia patient calls mask mandate end selfish

      The commissioner’s public letter resonates with Christiane Coopman, a 73-year-old leukemia patient in Chilliwack.

      “We don’t live our life. We cannot live our life,” she said, adding for her, being around people who are not masked up is out of the question.

      “I cannot go shopping … Before, I could do a little bit when everybody was wearing a mask. Besides that, we’re being laughed at … fingers pointed at our masks. It’s not really worth it,” she said.

      When Henry announced the removal of the mask mandate in B.C., Coopman felt it was a selfish move.

      “It’s her job to manage it and guide us through, not put all the responsibilities on us. The whole responsibility has been put on the individual.”

      On Tuesday, Dix said with mask-wearing now a personal choice and not a legal requirement, the key is that people are respectful of others in the community. Coopman says that’s just wishful thinking.

      “We see it every day. People don’t give a crap about other people,” said Coopman, who has been battling leukemia for eight years.

      The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on her life. Something as simple as someone come into her home to do repair work is a big ordeal.

      “We have to be really prepared,” she said. “I’m sitting in the bedroom. The bottom of the door is completely blocked, no air is coming in. All the doors and all the windows are open, all the air purifiers are going, and we have to ask people to constantly wear an N-95 mask.”

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      The commissioner points out in her letter that kids under the age of five cannot be vaccinated, but many attend schools without mask requirements.

      While acknowledging that after two years of living in a pandemic, many people are tired of wearing masks, Govender says “people dislike wearing masks is not a compelling argument when weighted against the rights of others to life, security of the person, and equal participation in social and economic life.”

      Calling masking a “minimally invasive public health measure,” she says no one should have to be exposed to COVID-19 or excluded from public spaces when a policy like masking could reduce their risk.

      “There will be a day where the mask mandate may be lifted, but that day is not here,” Govender wrote at the end of her letter.

      Though B.C.’s mask mandate has been lifted for most locations, many people in Vancouver still choose to wear face coverings.

      A UBC associate psychology professor told CityNews part of the reason for this is because COVID-19 is still with us, adding many people are still figuring out what they should do.

      People pay attention to what other people do,” Azim Shariff said earlier this month.

      “Immediately, you might think, ‘Well, I’ll just go out without a mask.’ Then you look around, and see that some other people are still wearing their masks, and then you say, ‘Well, maybe I’m supposed to still wear a mask,'” he said.

      With files from Liza Yuzda and Martin MacMahon

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