The great Halloween debate: Trick-or-treating has become an ethical quandary

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Every conversation Darlene Kassian has with her neighbours about Halloween eventually turns to the question of guilt.

“Are you putting out candy?” they ask each other. Are you letting your kids go trick-or-treating? What will the other neighbours think?

“All the parents I’ve been talking to are wrestling with this to be honest,” says Ms. Kassian, who lives in Edmonton. “It’s the same thing with going back to school. Some parents say they want online school. Other parents say no, it’s okay to go back in school. And then there’s judgment on either side from some parents.”

This year, Halloween isn’t simply a night for kids to dress up in costumes and go door to door getting candy. For some parents, it is a test of our collective concern for one another.

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Several regions have asked people to not trick-or-treat, but there has been conflicting messages from different public-health agencies. For example, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, has said the tradition can go ahead as long as people follow health guidelines such as maintaining physical distance, while Ontario’s top doctor has told people in several of the province’s hot spots to skip the activity. Earlier this week, Winnipeg’s mayor urged parents to make other plans for their children, while provincial health authorities in Manitoba say it is okay to trick-or-treat.

On its website the Public Health Agency of Canada suggests families turn to their local health unit for guidance.

It’s a polarizing debate for many parents. Some believe that if you let your kids go trick-or-treating you’re risking other peoples' health, perhaps even contributing to the dire economic circumstances many businesses are dealing with. For other parents, it’s a special night of the year kids deserve after losing out on so much else since the pandemic began; they argue that the risk is low.

Many are opting for alternatives, avoiding trick-or-treating and the glaring side-eye they might get along with the candy.

“I understand how parents don’t want to disappoint their kids. But I also think it’s such a teachable moment to say, "You know what? Sometimes things are hard and it’s not the way we want it to be so we’re going to have a different memory this year,' ” says Robyn Green, a mother and business owner who lives in Ontario’s York Region, one of the province’s COVID-19 hot spots.

Toronto is another area where provincial health authorities have advised people to skip the activity.

“Given the high transmission of COVID-19 in the modified Stage 2 public-health unit regions of Ottawa, Peel, Toronto and York Region, traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating is not recommended and people should consider alternative ways to celebrate,” Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, said earlier this month.

That recommendation persuaded Jayme Derkson and a few friends in her Toronto neighbourhood to adjust their Halloween plans. Their kids will do a costume parade in a nearby alley and then have a scavenger hunt for candy before watching a movie together outdoors.

She too says this is a teachable moment for her six-year-old son.

“He knows what’s going on in the world and he wants to help. He wants to do his part. We want to help show him how to do it. I feel like, as parents, we can do that by finding other ways of having fun and celebrating our holiday,” Ms. Derkson says.

In British Columbia, although provincial health authorities have given trick-or-treating the go-ahead, midwife Leah Seibert and many of her neighbours in East Vancouver are uncomfortable with sending their kids door-to-door.

She is converting her co-op’s playground into a “candy-spitting dragon,” where candy will shoot down the slide into kids' bags.

“I do feel invested in giving them something exciting and fun because it is probably their last hurrah as our second wave ticks up here,” Ms. Seibert says.

Alberta public-health officials have said it is fine to go trick-or-treating, but many parents in Edmonton are still feeling the guilt factor, Ms. Kassian says.

“All the parents I’ve been talking to are wrestling with this to be honest,” she says.

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Are you allowed to go trick-or-treating this year?

Several regions in Canada, including Toronto, Peel and Ottawa, have recommended against traditional trick-or-treating, but in each of these areas people are free to do so at their own discretion. The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends following the advice of your local health unit.

How can you do it safely?

While people should respect public-health recommendations, trick-or-treating can be done safely, says Dr. Susy Hota, medical director of infection prevention and control at the University Health Network in Toronto. Use hand sanitizer, try to go with only your immediate family, wear a non-medical mask and maintain physical distance, she says.

What’s the safest way to hand out candy?

Maintain distance by handing out candy using a “candy slide” or other method to maintain at least two metres of distance.

How can I signal to others that I don’t want to participate?

Follow the recommendation of Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and several health authorities across the country: Simply turn off your lights. It is a clear sign you don’t want trick-or-treaters coming to the door.

Do I need to wash my kid’s candy?

“If people feel uncomfortable because they live in an area with high prevalence of COVID, they can quarantine candy for three days,” Dr. Hota says. “Surface-based transmission of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be a less important mode compared to respiratory transmission so I do not think people need to create elaborate candy decontamination protocols.”

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