Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 24, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B1 GET UP TO $3,000 Terms and conditions apply. LIMITED TIME OFFER CASH FOR A MORTGAGE NEW OR TRANSFER CITY●BUSINESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM B1 THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 SECTION BCONNECT WITH WINNIPEG’S NO. 1 NEWS SOURCE▼ A MOTHER who has two children enrolled in Manitoba’s French-language school division is seek- ing a court injunction to allow them to attend class without wearing masks. Krista McKenzie, a practising law- yer who is representing her family, has taken the Division scolaire franco- manitobaine to court because adminis- trators have asked her to keep her kids home until she can provide more detail about why they cannot wear masks at school. She made her case Monday during a bilingual hearing held via conference call in front of Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Gerald Chartier. “There is no doubt that this is a ser- ious question to be tried: Does a school board have the right to deny mask exemptions and on what basis? Does the school board have the right to medical information to assess mask exemptions and to what extent, if so?” said McKen- zie, who owns a boutique law firm in Orillia, Ont. She is not registered as a practising lawyer in Manitoba, but her children at- tend school in the province. McKenzie did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Manitoba has mandated the use of non-medical masks for students in Grade 4 and up, staff and all visitors in schools, when two metres of physical distancing is not possible. Grade 3 stu- dents in 3-4 split classes “should” wear a face covering for the benefit of all students and staff in the classroom, ac- cording to provincial guidelines, which also require masks to be universally worn on school buses. New guidelines on limitations indi- cate divisions can grant exceptions for nine reasons, ranging from a child being younger than two, to having a fa- cial deformity, to living with a medical condition that would prevent them from safely wearing a face covering. Citing privacy laws, McKenzie de- clined to disclose specifics about her children’s health, saying only the exemption is for “medical and other reasons.” “The court is not entitled to say, ‘Yes, your medical reason is valid, or not — what is it?’ That’s what the (division) is trying to do. They’re not entitled to do that. That’s the whole issue,” argued McKenzie, when pressed by the judge about her basis for an exemption. She said she is seeking an exemp- tion on the grounds there is limited research about kids wearing masks, little is known about the repercussions of wearing masks on children — espe- cially those with medical conditions, and children are too young to be able to voice when they need to take off a mask. McKenzie spoke during the hearing about her youngest child being a Grade 3 student in a 3-4 split while her eldest is intimidated by school staff and thus, unable to speak up for himself. The division’s position is that its duty is to protect school communities and the mask mandate is one tool to keep students and staff safe from COVID-19. The defence put forward an affidavit from the president of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, in which James Bed- ford states the collective well-being of school communities must prevail over individual rights and personal prefer- ences. In French, Christian Monnin, lawyer for the Division scolaire, argued the division has the authority to ask for more information about an exemption, which could affect the security of other students and the school community. Monnin said the division needs details about each child’s individual limitations so both parties can work together to find a reasonable solution. He cited vague statements about the request, including an email from Mc- Kenzie in which she wrote the exemp- tion is “for a number of reasons, in- cluding mental, dental, medical and personal choice.” McKenzie has also provided the div- ision with a medical note from her chil- dren’s doctor in Ontario. It states the students cannot wear masks continu- ously. As per provincial guidelines, medical notes are not mandatory for an exemp- tion. However, the latest guidelines, re- leased on Sept. 18, state guardians must provide information about limitations to a school — and at the division’s dis- cretion, administrators may request a note from a health-care provider. McKenzie argued the ever-changing protocols have not been properly com- municated and the division has acted arbitrarily, the result of which has been her children’s right to education being denied for two weeks. In response, Monnin spoke at length about the fluidity of the COVID-19 pan- demic. Chartier said on Monday he would deliver a decision before the end of the week, noting the “relative urgency” of the case. Monnin, superintendent Alain La- berge and the teachers society de- clined to comment on the open case. Neither the Manitoba School Boards Association nor the lawyer repre- senting the association responded to the Free Press. The French division had received 10 requests for mask exemptions — seven of which have been accepted and three of which are, as of Wednesday, pending. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie Mom takes mask dispute to court MAGGIE MACINTOSH Ontario lawyer seeks injunction over Winnipeg school division’s policy on face-covering exemptions IN the middle of a tree-planting tour, Mayor Brian Bowman noted Winnipeg is still far from ensuring the number of new trees added to its canopy each year exceeds the number lost. The mayor planted one tree in each of the city’s 15 wards Wednesday, while urging others to join the civic One Mil- lion Tree Challenge. The program aims to have a million new trees planted by the time Winnipeg’s population reaches one million people, which is expected around 2040. “It’s a long-term challenge for a rea- son, recognizing that we can’t com- pletely reverse the tide overnight,” said Bowman. “Right now, we’ve got about 300,000 trees on public lands. If we can get a million (new) trees… that’s going to make a huge, positive difference.” The public service estimates about 50,000 trees must be planted each year to reach the one-million mark, once program donations and events have ramped up over the next few years. The effort could cost the city and its part- ners about $43 million over two dec- ades, as each tree can cost between $5 and $750. The city currently loses thousands of trees each year, largely due to disease and invasive species. Officials removed 8,588 trees from public and private property in 2019 (5,657 due to Dutch elm disease), city spokeswoman Julie Horbal Dooley wrote in an emailed statement. During the same year, the city planted 1,434 trees in parks and on boulevards. To date, an additional 3,700 have been planted through the One Mil- lion Tree Challenge. Bowman said the overall loss of thou- sands of trees each year sparked the program. “We know that invasive species like Emerald ash borer and Dutch elm dis- ease are decimating our tree canopy. And if we don’t treat that challenge with urgency and as a sustained com- munity effort, the city is going to look a lot less green in the decades to come,” he said. The mayor said about one-third of the city’s trees could be lost to Dutch elm disease over the next century, while Emerald ash borer is expected to deci- mate local ash trees within the next 15 to 20 years. Oly Backstrom, an Earl Grey resi- dent, said such loss is already appar- ent in his neighbourhood, where many trees have already been removed or marked for destruction. Backstrom said the city appears to be at an “escalation point” toward the rapid decimation of the tree canopy. “What I would like our city to work on now is to slow the death of the remain- ing elms and to expedite the replace- ment of our trees (in ways) that divers- ify our urban forest and make them more robust to hold up against disease,” he said. Backstrom said he realizes the price of that effort could prove an obstacle but believes tree preservation should be a priority. “I think the city still needs, basically, a strategic plan to get back on top of the loss of their urban forest… and I’m not sure if the million tree challenge really addresses that,” he said. Bowman said Winnipeg’s forestry branch is working to increase the di- versity of the trees planted to better prepare for invasive species. When asked if he would move to in- crease the forestry budget to speed up tree removals and replacements, the mayor said that will be considered. “I don’t think anybody denies that we need to keep doing more. So we’ll take a look at our multi-year budgets and we’ll see what we can do,” said Bowman. joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga Mayor’s tree-planting tour puts spotlight on canopy LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER JOYANNE PURSAGA RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS In celebration of National Tree Day, Mayor Brian Bowman (from left), along with St. James Coun. Scott Gillingham and River Heights Coun. John Orlikow, plant a cottonwood tree along the banks of Sturgeon Creek Wednesday. B_01_Sep-24-20_FP_01.indd B1 2020-09-23 9:56 PM ;