Vital updates:

• On Friday, July 17th, a face mask bylaw will come into effect in St. Catharines. This bylaw, passed by Council last night, makes St. Catharines the first Niagara municipality to have passed a face mask bylaw. The city solicitor has stated that the bylaw requires businesses to have a mask policy, but not to enforce it, although the bylaw does state that individuals in violation will be guilty of an offence. Businesses can, if they choose, invoke the bylaw to require masks or prohibit entry. Those who claim exemption will be granted it, and are not obliged to prove their exemption. The full text of the report and motion is available here (PDF link).
• The bylaw defines “enclosed public spaces” as a building or any part of a building that is indoors and where the public is ordinarily invited or permitted access, regardless of whether they pay a fee or hold a membership to do so. This includes:
  • Businesses that sell food, including restaurants, cafés, cafeterias, supermarkets, grocery stores, bakeries, and convenience stores;
  • Shopping malls and other structures with multiple businesses;
  • Places of worship;
  • Community spaces such as libraries, museums, galleries, bingo halls, banquet or convention halls, community centres, cinemas, theatres, concert venues, special event venues, or other similar entertainment, cultural, leisure or event spaces and facilities, indoor sports and recreational facilities, sports clubs, gyms, yoga studios, dance studios, arenas, stadiums and clubhouses;
  • The common areas of hotels, motels, and other short-term accommodations, such as lobbies, elevators, meeting rooms, rest
    rooms, laundry rooms, gyms, and kitchens or other common use facilities, but not the common areas of residential apartment buildings and condominiums;
  • Premises utilized as an open house, presentation centre, or other facility for real estate purposes;
  • Other businesses, organizations and places that are permitted to operate in accordance with the Emergency Orders.
• The bylaw exempts the following:
  • Day cares, child care facilities, day camps for children, schools, and postsecondary
    institutions;
  • Private and public transportation;
  • Hospitals, independent health facilities and offices of regulated health
    professionals;
  • Buildings and services owned or operated by the Province of Ontario or the
    Federal Government of Canada.
• Every business included above must have a mask policy and must be able to produce it for inspection by a bylaw officer upon request. The requirement to wear a mask must be posted visibly and conspicuously at every public entrance to the business. The policy must:
  • exempt people listed below from the obligation of wearing a mask, without requiring proof of such exemption;
  • ensure that all persons working at the business or organization are trained in the requirements of the policy;
    require that employees and agents wear a mask, except when they are:
    • Within an area of the premises where the public is not permitted access, or
    • within or behind a physical barrier;
  • permit the temporary removal of a Mask where necessary for the
    purpose of:
    • receiving services;
    • while actively engaging in an athletic or fitness activity including water-based activities;
    • while actively engaged in delivering a vocal artistic performance, paid for or otherwise arranged by the Operator;
    • while participating in a religious rite or ceremony that is incompatible with the face being covered;
    • consuming food or drink; or
    • for any emergency or medical purpose
• The following people are exempt from the requirement:
  • children under ten years of age;
  • persons with medical conditions which inhibit their ability to wear a mask, including breathing difficulties or cognitive difficulties;
  • persons who are unable to apply or remove a mask without assistance, including those who are accommodated under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA);
  • persons who have protections, including reasonable accommodations, in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code which would prevent them from wearing a Mask;
  • persons while assisting or accommodating another person with a hearing disability.

Reading recommendations:

• If we love our cities, we’ll make better decisions about their future after the COVID-19 pandemic, Meg Holden, The Conversation
• The debate over “airborne” coronavirus spread, explained, Brian Resnick, Vox