The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 4600 and the Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA) issued a joint letter calling on Carleton University to re-introduce a campus-wide mask mandate to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on Nov. 18.
On Nov. 23 and Nov. 30, Suzanne Blanchard, vice-president (students and enrolment) and COVID-19 lead at Carleton, addressed all Carleton students and staff through email, saying the university strongly recommends masking.
“While COVID trends remain stable on campus and in Ottawa, the region is seeing an increase in flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV),” she wrote. “On the advice and guidance of public health authorities, Carleton strongly recommends wearing a well-fitted mask, particularly in dense indoor public settings where physical distancing cannot be maintained.”
The university has no current plans to reinstate its mandates, according to Steven Reid, its media relations officer.
“The university will continue to monitor the situation and will communicate any further changes as needed,” he said in an email to the Charlatan.
At a news conference on Nov. 14, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore strongly recommended Ontarians wear masks in all indoor and public settings, but did not issue a mask mandate.
Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa Medical Officer of Health, said Ottawa Public Health “would support any organization and institution that introduces a mask mandate.”
In August, CUPE 4600 filed a grievance against the university for disregarding workers’ safety and not consulting the union on the decision to conclude its mask mandate.
The unions expressed concern about the university’s current health and safety protocols.
The joint letter outlines CUPE 4600 and CUASA’s rationale for an immediate mask-mandate on campus, referring to a Nanos survey that found most Canadians would support the return of face mask mandates if deemed necessary by officials.
The presidents of CUASA and @cupe4600 have issued a joint letter to @CU_President Benoit-Antoine Bacon calling on @Carleton_U to immediately re-introduce a campus-wide mask mandate.
Read it in full here: https://t.co/wvRQMn7Sqp
— CUASA (@cuasa) November 19, 2022
The university strongly recommended the use of masks at the beginning of the fall 2022 term, but left its mandate behind in June.
In a recent article celebrating Carleton as a top 100 employer in Canada, which Carleton sponsored, university president Benoit-Antoine Bacon praised the university’s role in keeping students and staff safe during the pandemic.
“We’re doing everything methodically and carefully to ensure that everybody is safe and respected in their mental health and wellness,” he said. “We’re strategically positioning the university in a way that will allow us to come out of the pandemic stronger than ever.”
CUASA president Marylynn Steckley was critical of Bacon’s comments in an email to the Charlatan.
She said if the university administration intended to act methodically, they would follow the “indisputable scientific evidence” that masking is effective at reducing infection while causing no harm.
In a statement to the Charlatan, CUPE 4600 president Noreen Anne Cauley-Le Fevre said union members indicated very few people are wearing masks on campus and absences due to illness are at an all time high.
“Mandates work. Recommendations do not. Simple as that,” Cauley-Le Fevre wrote.
According to Cauley-Le Fevre, the two unions have not yet received a substantive response, just an acknowledgement that the letter was received.
Steckley said Carleton has been unwilling to cooperate with the unions and their membership to gain a better sense about faculty experiences.
“CUASA would welcome the opportunity to work with Carleton’s administration to find solutions to support and protect faculty,” Steckley said.
This story was last updated Dec. 10.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
