Education Minister Dominic Cardy could not be clearer on Wednesday. He said Public Health told his department to remove all orders from the classrooms and if Public Health wants to re-impose a mask order, Public Health should do so. “Otherwise, you are left with politicians making political decisions,” Cardy said. He said he had always followed science and listened to the recommendations of specialist doctors – and that is exactly what he intends to do this time, as calls are coming in from all directions to make masks mandatory again in schools. “Ultimately, I do not need to recommend people who go to university for many years and acquire skills and abilities.” The point, he said, is that it is the responsibility of Public Health “to lay down the rules of public health for the county of New Brunswick. And I will continue to support them in that, because that’s really the only option we have.”

Cardy returns to Public Health the issue of compulsory school masks

Prime Minister Blaine Higgs and Dr. Jennifer Russell both said the Department of Education could choose to make school masks mandatory after restrictions were lifted across the county. Education Minister Dominic Cardy answered questions following the remarks. 1:14
Earlier in the day, Dr. Jennifer Russell, the county’s director of general health, said her department only recommended lifting the Compulsory Order. “We were not really advising people not to wear masks,” Russell said. “And there is nothing that prevents education from imposing its own rules around the mask. But I will leave it to education.” Cardy is clearly not going to accept her offer until her department recommends her. Dr Jennifer Russell, chief physician in New Brunswick, says there is nothing stopping the Department of Education from making masks mandatory in schools. (Shane Magee / CBC)
“If Public Health chooses to make additional recommendations to the government, I can tell them that I will be happy to support these measures because I expect them to be science-based. And I’m here to support science and data under any circumstances. “No such recommendations have been made,” he said. The Ministry of Health was asked if it wanted masks in schools and if it would make this recommendation to the Ministry of Education, but did not receive an answer until the time of publication. Several medical experts have criticized the government’s removal of mask orders in schools in recent weeks. Neighboring Nova Scotia also reversed its decision to remove mask requirements from schools in the county. After first saying it would do so, Nova Scotia embarked on an adventure three days before the students returned to classes from the March break.