St. Catharines will vote on bylaw mandating face masks as tourism grows
Bylaw would require people to wear a mask in businesses and city facilities
St. Catharines is the first city in Niagara to move to make masks mandatory indoors when people are shopping or visiting public spaces, and Niagara regional council will ponder the same issue on Wednesday.
St. Catharines city council voted on Monday to draft a temporary bylaw requiring that businesses only allow people to enter if they're wearing a mask.
Likewise, the bylaw will say that employees working with the public in an enclosed space should also be required to wear a mask or face covering.
The masks must be worn, the motion says, unless it is "reasonably required to temporarily remove the covering for services provided by the establishment or while actively engaging in an athletic or fitness activity."
Mayor Walter Sendzik voiced his support of the bylaw during the Monday meeting, recounting the out-of-town licence plates he's seen around Niagara.
"We're not an island," he said. "We're a destination. When you talk to the mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake, they're seeing upwards of 50 to 60,000 vehicles on the weekend. So this whole thing that we live in a bubble — we don't."
"We're trying to protect our community because we don't know what people in the communities outside of Niagara are doing."
Sendzik said that as cases increase throughout the GTA, he doesn't want to see those cases "shifting" to St. Catharines because the city didn't have enough protections.
There will be exemptions for people with underlying medical conditions, or people who are younger than two. Those behind a physical barrier, or in an area not designated for public access, will also be exempt.
The rules will apply to St. Catharines businesses and city facilities that are open to the public, including community centres, libraries and public transit.
The bylaw will go to city council for approval on July 13. Sendzik said the region's director of medical health will be invited to answer questions.
The draft says the rules will be in force from July 14 until Aug. 24.
Hamilton's board of health will vote on its own draft bylaw on Friday. If approved, city council still has to ratify it next week.
Brock University in St. Catharines has also said masks are mandatory on campus.