Niagara Region

Niagara Region passed a by-law requiring face masks to be worn in indoor public spaces and on public transit. The by-law comes into effect on July 31, 2020. The bylaw will cover all Niagara municipalities, effectively overriding previous bylaws which were approved in St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake mandating masks. The by-law will remain in place until Oct. 1 unless extended by Regional Council.

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Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara-on-the-Lake has passed a mandatory face mask bylaw, becoming the second Niagara municipality to do so after St. Catharines. The bylaw is modeled on the one passed by St. Catharines, which is in force as of July 17. The Niagara-on-the-Lake bylaw will take effect on July 23. Enforcement will focus on education and voluntary compliance. Sample policies, guidance documents and signs are not yet available, but will likely be very similar to those available in St. Catharines.

St. Catharines

The City of St. Catharines has passed a bylaw that mandates the wearing of face masks in public, indoor spaces, including businesses, with only a few exemptions. This bylaw will take effect on Friday, July 17^th. Businesses will be required to post a sign at all public entrances to their premises advising the public of this policy, to have their employees wear masks unless behind physical barriers or in areas not accessible to the public, to have a mask policy that can be made available to a bylaw enforcement officer upon request, and to train all staff in this policy.

In partnership with the City of St. Catharines, we are able to provide:

1. An operator implementation guide which details the law, the requirements, and the exemptions, available here [PDF]
2. A template policy which you can use for your business, available here [PDF]; and
3. A printable sign [PDF] [PNG] [JPG] which you can place at the entrance to your premises, or use as the basis for your own design.

The GNCC is committed to assisting you and your business through every aspect of the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. If you have any questions about this bylaw, or if there is any other way in which the GNCC can help you navigate this challenging time, please do not hesitate to reach out.