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Pembina Hills will continue to require staff who have not been vaccinated to submit negative COVID test results for the time being, but that could change depending on what is announced by the province on March 1.
During their Feb. 9 board meeting, Pembina Hills trustees received an update from administration that the vaccinate-or-test requirements implemented as part of Administrative Procedure (AP) 20-07 are unaffected by the province’s recent lifting of public health restrictions.
Whether that will remain the case is unclear, as the provincial government hasn’t specified if employer-mandated restrictions will be affected when Alberta moves to Phase 2 of its plan to lift all public health restrictions.
“You never know what the government is going to do,” said board chair Judy Lefebvre, in an interview on Feb. 10. “We’re just abiding by government regulations.”
Vaccinate or test
Back in the fall, Pembina Hills introduced a new AP requiring employees to submit their vaccination records to the division by Nov. 29, 2021.
Those staff who had not received two doses of vaccine could continue working for the division but would have to regularly submit the results of COVID-19 tests to the human resources department prior to coming to work.
The costs of these tests were handled by the division up until the Christmas holidays, at which point it would fall to the unvaccinated employees to arrange for their own COVID tests at their own expense.
Incidentally, approximately 97 per cent of certificated staff had received two doses of vaccine, along with 90 per cent of support staff and 91 per cent of bus drivers.
On Feb. 8, the day before the Pembina Hills board meeting, Premier Jason Kenney announced the launch of a three-phase plan to lift public health restrictions throughout the province.
“The last two years have taken a significant toll on Albertans’ overall health, social and economic well-being. Now that we are through the worst of the fifth wave and have achieved high vaccination rates, it is time to shift to a balanced approach where we are able to live with COVID-19 and return to normal,” said Kenney.
The first phase of this plan involved the removal of the Restrictions Exemption Program (REP), as well as capacity limits on venues with a capacity of under 500.
Mandatory masking requirements for children and youth in schools and on buses also end at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 13.
However, all staff in schools and on buses are still required to wear masks, as are any adult visitors and volunteers within schools. (Students may also choose to wear masks and will be supported in that choice.)
As well, spectators are now allowed to attend school sporting events and will no longer have to maintain two-metres distancing while seated, but they still have to wear masks.
The second phase of this provincial strategy is slated to begin on March 1, provided hospitalization rates continued to trend downward. According to the province, any remaining provincial school requirements (including cohorting) will be lifted at that time.
But, as administration reported to the trustees at their Feb. 9 meeting, they are unsure whether or not that applies to the requirements under AP 20-07.
Lefebvre noted that Pembina Hills Supt. Michael Borgfjord was part of a meeting with the deputy minister of education the morning of Feb. 9 and his message was to wait and see what happens on March 1.
“Until then, we’re keeping with the AP that was developed back in the fall,” Lefebvre said.
On a final note, Lefebvre said that, unlike other schools in Alberta, Pembina Hills has not had to contend with any major disruptions from anti-vaccine or anti-mask demonstrators.
The only local demonstration occurred on Feb. 4, when a group of parents and children picketed in front of the Pembina Hills regional office in Barrhead to protest masking requirements.
Lefebvre said there was supposedly another protest near one of their schools, but not on school property.
“We’ve been pretty peaceful here,” she added.
