Quebec doctors are speaking out about the province’s back-to-school plans, because they say they are being inundated with requests for exemptions from parents who are nervous about sending their kids back to school.
“It’s more of a problem, certainly,” according to family practitioner Doctor Henry Coopersmith from his office in Westmount.
“People are worried about what the future holds and there’s not enough information, so as school time is coming up closer, people are getting much more concerned.”
In the Quebec government’s updated back to school plan, released five days ago, students must physically return to school.
Some students can get exemptions if they have a health condition that makes them vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 or if they live with a family member who is vulnerable. To get an exemption, the student must get a doctor’s note.
Coopersmith said that figuring out who gets one is a question that’s stressful for many health professionals.
“The pressure is on us to sit and arbitrate, which is an uncomfortable and unfair position,” he told Global News.
Dr. Christopher Labos, a cardiologist, explained that in some cases the question is obvious.
“So (patients) who are immunocompromised, they’re getting chemotherapy for their cancer, so they’re very likely going to be at high risk if they get an infection,” he said.
But Coopersmith pointed out that there are many grey zones, including situations in which a person might not even be sick.
“I have patients who are presenting with tremendous anxiety: with stress, crying, fearful and yet they’re healthy,” he explained.
“So they don’t fall within any actual guidelines.”
Therefore, he said, the decision is a subjective choice for doctors.
Lawyer Julius Gray argues that doctors shouldn’t have to decide.
“I think there are certain kinds of decisions, and the Quebec government doesn’t get it, that have to me made by the individuals,” he emphasized.
“The Canadian Supreme court said that decisions concerning the health of children should be made by the individuals, so the doctors are in an impossible position.”
Gray wants the Quebec government to give parents the option to not send their kids to school if they don’t feel safe.
“But if the government is unwilling to negotiate, we will move to the courts,” he said.
The education ministry refused to comment on the issue for now.
To get around the problem of deciding who gets an exemption, some doctors like Coopersmith say they simply write a medical note explaining a particular condition or a situation that makes a person vulnerable, and leave it to school authorities to decide whether the student is exempt.
“That still does not clarity the situation very much,” he said.
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