On Monday, Waterloo Regional Council passed two bylaws that will require people to wear masks when they are in public spaces or on transit while in the area.
The new rules will come into effect on July 13 and will be reviewed on Sept. 30.
Here are a few things residents and visitors to Waterloo Region should be aware of as the new bylaws take effect.
The COVID-19 numbers have gone down in Waterloo Region. Why now?
Over the past week, there have been just 21 new cases of the coronavirus (or about three per day), which has led many to question why the bylaws were enacted.
“We need to anticipate that the modelling is true and that there will be a second phase in this fight,” regional chair Karen Redman said. “So this helps remind people who are suffering from pandemic fatigue that the pandemic is still in the community.”
Waterloo Region CAO Mike Murray seconded Redman’s point.
“The mask bylaw is an effort to prevent further transmission and that will also help prevent a second wave,” he said.
What type of masks are considered appropriate?
The plastic face shields are not going to cut in this case.
The bylaws state that a face covering “shall mean a medical mask or non-medical mask or other face covering, including a bandana, scarf or other fabric that covers the nose, mouth and chin to create a barrier to limit the transmission of respiratory droplets.”
Who is required to wear a mask in a public place?
The bylaw states that any owner, operator, employee or worker in the enclosed public place and any customer, patron or other visitor in the enclosed public place are required to don a face covering.
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Who is exempt from the bylaw?
There are several exceptions to the bylaw, including people with a medical condition or a disability, kids under the age of five, people doing a sport or other strenuous physical activity, and people consuming food or drink as part of a religious activity within a place of worship
What are the punishments for non-compliance?
The region says the goal of the bylaws is not to hand out tickets or to arrest people, rather it is attempting to educate people on the importance of wearing a face covering.
That said, if someone were to push the issue on Grand River Transit, they could be issued a $250 ticket.
Elsewhere, it becomes a bit more of a sticky wicket.
“I think it’s possible that there would be circumstances where somebody was consistently, repeatedly and intentionally violating the bylaw and I could picture scenarios where it was in those kinds of circumstances and that has been repeated and intentional, where we might see charges,” Murray explained.
“Education awareness first, but there may be situations where we would pursue charges.”
Murray says the region has applied to the province for the ability to hand out a ticket in situations not involving the GRT but until it is approved, it will be issuing summons.
“We would issue a summons to a person who was violating the bylaw and they would need to appear in person in court,” he said.
What places are affected by the new bylaw?
Face masks will be required in the following locations, with some exceptions, once the bylaws come into effect:
- Buses, bus shelters, ION trains and ION platforms
- Stores and shopping malls
- Indoor areas of restaurants and bars, with the exception of patrons consuming food and drink
- Professional services such as counselling, personal care, funeral homes and repair and rental services
- Lobby areas of commercial buildings
- Hotels and motels, with the exception of rented rooms
- Laundromats
- Indoor areas of fitness centres, gyms and recreational and sports facilities
- Indoor concert venues, theatres and cinemas
- Arcades and other indoor amusement facilities
- Museums, galleries, historic sites, etc.
- Places of worship
- Municipal buildings
What places are not affected by the new bylaw?
The bylaws don’t cover federal or provincial buildings; colleges, universities or schools; hospitals or health facilities; and employee-only areas of businesses and other buildings.
What do I do if someone is not wearing a mask?
The region is not looking for anyone to become vigilantes or begin public shaming on the issue as there are plenty of legitimate reasons why someone may not be able to wear a mask.
But if people still have concerns, Murray said they can call the region’s Service First call centre at 519-575-4400.
“We’re a little concerned about getting flooded with hundreds of thousands of calls,” he said. “We’re just asking people, you know, be a little patient.”
What are the requirements for businesses?
The region is not looking for businesses to police the face coverings either but they will be required to post a notice it will provide.
If the business does not post the notice, that is when they could get into hot water.
“I suppose in the extreme, if a business refuses to comply with that part of the bylaw, our first approach obviously would be encouragement, education, awareness, encourage business to post signage as required by the bylaw,” he said.
“Then, under the bylaw, we would have the ability to enforce that one requirement.”
Why does the bylaw end on Sept. 30?
“We just wanted a marker in time where we would examine it,” Redman said.
She said the council does have the ability to extend the bylaw beyond that date if needed.
Redman said council would consider shelving the bylaw if the province were to enact its own legislation as well.
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