Moe stands behind province’s back-to-school plan

Premier Scott Moe defended Saskatchewan’s back-to-school plan in an interview with Gormley guest host Mike Couros on Friday.

Opinions on the plan have been split, with it garnering both praise and criticism.

Moe said it was thoroughly developed according to health guidelines.

“Dr. (Saqib) Shahab leads our public health department,” Moe said in reference to Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer. “He is part of the Pan-Canadian Public Health Network. They have a special advisory committee set up across this nation … So he is in constant contact with his colleagues across the nation.”

Saskatchewan closed its schools in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, the government said students would return to in-person learning in the fall and produced guidelines that were released Tuesday.

Some individuals groups have criticized the government’s plan for not having measures like mandatory masking. However, Moe said the province wanted to give school divisions the power to make those decisions.

“Each facility is different (and) the staffing complements are different,” Moe said. “This is why we have our locally elected school boards is to ensure that they’re providing the input in this case to ensure the safest return to school possible.”

The province and divisions can choose to put stricter measures in place should localized outbreaks or higher case numbers appear. It’s all part of a process that Moe called “a marathon.”

“I know there’s a very public discussion going on with concerned parents and there’s further information that’s going to come out in the days ahead,” Moe said. “But it’s important to remember that there is an opportunity for a very constructive conversation on further tweaking these plans with our divisions on an operational level.

“We’re working with the divisions from the other end, if you will, on which level — 1, 2, 3, 4 — we go with.”

Moe broke down a few examples of what the different levels look like.

“Level 1 has many parameters in place, Level 2 has masking, Level 3 has alternate days to shrink our class sizes down, and Level 4 is back to distance learning,” he explained.

While these contingency plans are available for safety purposes, Moe hopes it’s not necessary to use them. The goal for all involved is to give children a chance to go back to school.

That said, Moe admitted there was uncertainty in many circles about schools reopening Sept. 1.

“I’ve talked to many people across this province, many parents across this province and even some of the students that are going back, and that uncertainty is going to be there,” he said.

“What we need to do is to work with public health — work with other public health information that we have from across this country and around the world — to ensure that we have a plan that is adaptable and flexible, a plan that is simple and understandable, a plan that is transparent so everyone can have access to it, but most of all a plan that puts the safety of our students and our staff as the top priority. We feel we have that.”

Overall, the premier is confident in the current plan, but he said changes will be made if need be.

“If there are risks, we will elevate to Level 2, which does include mandatory masks — maybe not for all students, maybe students in a specific area of the province (or) maybe a specific age of students …,” he said. “We are going to ensure that we can provide the safest environment.”