Members of the Moncton High School band have been busy rehearsing and fundraising, traveling to New York City for several months.
The district said the decision was made due to the political climate in the ongoing trade war between the United States and Canada.
But École L’Odyssée’s parents and students said they had never consulted about the decision and were disappointed with the cancellation.
“It started with our son jumping into the car when I picked him up after the rehearsal, and he said, “The trip was cancelled, knowing it was April 1, and I said, ‘Oh, an April fool’ joke? ‘” Andy Peterson said his son Erik was a 10th grade student in the band.
“And, actually, the music teacher’s email begins with: ‘This is not an April Fool’s Day joke.'”
The email sent to parents said the trip was cancelled because the provincial government decided to cancel all non-essential school trips to the United States.
When asked about this, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education told Global News that no such directive was issued and that the director of each school district made a decision to travel.
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“Given the political atmosphere we are in, we have zero concerns because we know how many plans we have done,” Peterson said.
“We know how much experience their music teachers have in doing this and preparing.”
The decision was supported by the Secretary of Education and in the current socio-political context of the United States, Monique Boudreau, principal of the French South School District, in an email sent to his parents on Wednesday.
Boudreau said in an email written and translated in French that they do not want students to “potentially unpredictable situations, especially when the border is at a possible situation”.
Peterson said he and other parents hope the decision will be reversed and gain more transparency from the area.
“Take some responsibility, meet with parents and take us through your thinking process,” he said.
A school district spokesman told Global News on Thursday afternoon that the decision to cancel the trip was a “preventive judgment” after discussions with the education department.
Geneviève Chiasson wrote that the region is expected to suspend non-essential guidelines for travel to the United States from the province.
“Knowing that the departure of (school band) is coming soon, we chose to act quickly before the department officially releases these guidelines to inform affected families through the department’s agreement,” she wrote.
“However, after we announced the news, the government finally decided to move forward this week’s travel-related guidelines. Instead, it is recommended that we use critical thinking when evaluating any non-essential trip to the United States.”
She went on to say that it was no longer possible to reschedule the trip.
Asked if they made similar decisions on traveling to the United States, a spokesperson for the English East School District said the guidelines were formulated by the province.
A spokesman for the West Anglophone school district said it does not approve any new trips to the U.S., but for the rest of the school year, it has booked and approved “current situations” trips.
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