Politics

Extending The Airline Mask Mandate Makes Sense To Some, Politics Aside – Forbes

Published

3 years ago

March 7, 2022

Society in general seems to be done with masks. At the President’s State of the Union address, almost no masks were seen in a crowded space. Many major school systems have made masks optional, in part a response to recent studies showing how damaging academically the last few years have been. Still, though, on airplanes and other transportation, the mask mandate applies.

With the current airline mask mandate scheduled to end on March 18, sides are lining up to state their views of what should happen. Many airlines likely want it to go away, as it will remove the biggest source of onboard disruptions and also allow the re-introduction of liquor sales. Sara Nelson, the influential leader of flight attendants represented by the AFA-CWA, has called for a further extension of the mask mandate to keep crews and passengers protected. The case to extend the mask mandates exists, but so do reasons to let it end.

Implications Of Revised CDC Guidance

The recent update of CDC’s guidance gave hope to those who want mask mandates removed. Rather than focusing only on case counts, the new look considers other factors like hospitalization rates and room utilization. Together, these create a “low, medium, or high” risk by county, with corresponding mask guidance for each. The CDC offers an interactive site where you can check the status of any county in the country. For lower risk areas, mask guidance is limited to heavily congested areas or for people with known issues.

The challenge for this as it relates to airlines is that you may be flying from one risk region to another, and in between there is no formal risk assessment for the airports or the plane itself. This makes it harder to say that, solely because of the new CDC guidance, the airline mask mandate should be removed. Yet for those who want it removed, the new guidance does show more tolerance for removing masks in many situations.

The Role Of Masks In Onboard Violence

This past summer and holiday periods were marked with a serious increase in onboard violent disruptions. Over 75% of these were the result of mask wearing policies being ignored, misunderstood, or simply flouted. While there are many reasons for an increase in these type of instances, clearly removing the mask mandate would dramatically reduce the number of situations that could escalate into violence.

This reason conflicts with the flight attendants’ union push to renew the mandate. By doing so, they are saying that safety from the virus is more risky than being punched in the face, as was done to a Southwest flight attendant. Given that masks protect the individual as well as transmitting to others, flight attendants could continue wearing masks while letting the passenger mandate drop. This might be the safest answer of all, considering all dangers related.

It’s Unclear That Masks Onboard Add To Safety

Gary Kelly, the recently retired CEO of Southwest Airlines, testified to congress that masks do little to help on airplanes given how safe airplanes are in the first place. Others have disputed this, and stated that masks on airplanes have helped. What is clear, though, is that the airplane air is healthier due to HEPA filtering and continual recirculation using outside air. How much is improved by the mask is still uncertain, even though it’s logical to think they help somewhat. This forces an interesting discussion, which is how much risk do we take in our daily lives? Viruses were running around before Covid, but we didn’t wear masks everywhere largely because we accepted getting a cold once in a while. The risks of Covid have certainly dropped since initial fears, especially with widely available vaccines and better understanding of who is most at risk.

Removing Masks As A Sign Of Normalcy

Many airlines will want the mask mandate removed, for reasons earlier stated but also to stress a sense of things returning to normal. This could further encourage more travel, as undoubtedly some travel has held back just because of mask mandate and the sense that world is still somewhat shut down. On its own, the airline mandate may not have this effect, but when combined with a further loosening of rules in many areas we could be looking at the most normal summer since 2019. Not all areas will be the same, however. Many in the Washington, DC area had to chuckle when Mayor Muriel Bowser recently tweeted a “good news” message that school children no longer had to wear masks when outdoors.

The Uncomfortable Political Angle

There is an interesting showdown likely happening in the White House, as the current administration clearly wants a “mission accomplished” message for the pandemic before the mid-term elections. Yet, the unions who want the mask mandate extended also have sway, and so it is unclear how the government will rule. One possibility is to extend the mask mandate further but not too much longer, to pacify the unions but still claim victory on the virus long before people head to the polls in November.

On balance, ending the airline mask mandate soon, if not exactly on March 18, makes the most sense. For those that are pushing to extend, even they cannot be thinking this a solution that would extend beyond this summer, assuming of course no new more dangerous variant appears.

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Politics

‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

Published

4 days ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

Published

4 days ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

Published

5 days ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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