Concerns raised over anti-masker presence, confrontations at former school site

A number of people in the neighbourhood surrounding the former site of Sister Mary Clare Catholic School are voicing their concerns after run-ins with people who have been seen going in and out of the former east-end school property over the past couple of weeks. 

Some people in that neighbourhood who spoke with SooToday this week - on the condition of anonymity, fearing backlash and retaliation from people associated with the old school site - suggest there are plans in the works to establish a community centre for the local anti-vaccination and anti-masking movements.  

An elderly person who lives in the neighbourhood says she was recently yelled at by a man who appeared to be tending to the property, after making small talk about the old school property being sold. 

The man informed the elderly person that the former Sister Mary Clare site is being leased by the ‘freedom alliance.’ 

“And then he started on a tirade about the government control, and we don’t want to wear masks and we shouldn’t be forced to have vaccinations, and we’re totally against that. And he’s going on and on,” she told SooToday earlier this week.

The two then had a disagreement about people dying from COVID-19.  

“And then he got angry, and he was going on more and more about not having to wear masks, and people are going to be able to bring their kids here, and they’re going to be able to drop them off - and they don’t have to worry about having to wear masks, because they don’t have to, and it’ll be a safe place for these kids.”

The elderly person asked how that facility - which is situated a stone’s throw away from Grand View Public School - would be funded. They were told that ‘300 of us are paying for this.’

“He said, ‘are you for this?’ And I said absolutely not. I said we go to public school right next door with all these little kids, and I said they’re wearing masks and they’re trying to stay safe - and I don’t think this is a great place to have a whole bunch of people that are unvaccinated and not wearing masks right [next] to a public school.”

The elderly person then started to walk away from the man in a hurry. 

“At the top of his lungs, four times, he screamed, ‘you’re a f***ing Nazi b***h!’” 

Another person in the neighbourhood says she was confronted and yelled at for using a walkway beside Sister Mary Clare that’s been used by people in that area for years. 

“Holy s**t. They’re screaming - they must be screaming at me, so I got scared. I had already heard about them, so I got scared and turned back,” she said, giving a play-by-play of the interaction to SooToday earlier this week. “They’re swearing, they’re using foul language. 

“They’re screaming about how we live in a communist country now, and your dollar’s not going to be worth anything. I’m like, okay, this is scary.”

The people SooToday has spoken with all say that it’s not uncommon to see vehicles adorned with anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown messaging going in and out of the former school property. 

“You got all these vehicles coming and going, and these anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers...parents have a right to know that,” a parent with children at Grand View told SooToday.

“They’re gathering there right now. They seem to be fixing up the school space, but if you want to be neighbours within our neighbourhood, maybe not attacking people would be [the] best case scenario,” said another anonymous source. 

School board, police advise people to stay off private property 

Although people have routinely cut through the Sister Mary Clare schoolyard for years, the Algoma District School Board is now advising the Grand View Public School community to stay off of the private property. 

“ADSB is aware that the building near Grand View Public School (the former Sister Mary Clare elementary school) is now occupied,” reads a statement from the school board. “We are also aware that Grand View administrators sent a notice to families reminding them that, as the property is now occupied by tenants, students and parents are encouraged to refrain from passing through the property.”

Sault Ste. Marie Police Service spokesperson Lincoln Louttit told SooToday Thursday that the police service is aware of concerns from neighbours, but says that there are currently no grounds for criminal charges to be laid.

The police service is also reminding the public that the Sister Mary Clare site is private property. 

Ward 1 councillors Paul Christian and Sandra Hollingsworth are also aware of the talk surrounding the Glen Avenue property, and have both expressed concern to SooToday. 

“I’m a bit surprised. I understand that they have their beliefs, and they’ve organized - and I respect their right to do it,” Christian said.

Christian says he’s spoken with ADSB personnel and several people in the neighbourhood about what's transpired so far, and without exception, everyone is concerned. The councillor also laments the fact that people in the neighbourhood are not permitted to cut through the property like they've been doing for years.   

“I think they have a right to organize and be with like-minded people - I just don’t know if that location is the best for all stakeholders,” Christian said. 

City staff looking into property, mayor says

Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Christian Provenzano told SooToday Friday that a number of residents have reached out to him about the concerns they have about the activities at Sister Mary Clare and how the property is being used. 

He’s referred those concerns to the City of Sault Ste. Marie’s chief administrative officer and the bylaw enforcement department. 

“I asked city staff to consider the comments that were being made to assess where we had jurisdiction and legal authority, and if they determined things were happening that were inconsistent with our bylaws to address those things,” said Provenzano. “I want to assure everybody who’s reached out to me that I’ve received the communications, I have asked city staff to work on it. City staff will do what it can within its authority to do so.”

But another anonymous source says that something needs to be done soon in order to avoid further confrontations.  

“I just worry what’s about to happen. I don’t know. I don’t want to wait until something escalates,” they said. 

SooToday sent a message to the Sault Ste. Marie Freedom Alliance through its GoFundMe campaign seeking comment and clarification, but has yet to receive a response.