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Elmira, Ontario, Canada | observerxtra.com | Volume 26 | Issue 19
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Region extends mask bylaw in line with province Mandate was set to end May 31; regional council opts to follow schedule of Reopening Ontario Act Damon MacLean Observer Staff
Woolwich Township recently made its first foray into electric vehicles, a Hyundai SUV seen here with Ryne Weppler, Damon MacLean operations and community services coordinator, at the WMC in Elmira.
A MASK MANDATE WILL REMAIN in effect for Waterloo Region, as council this week voted to extend the requirement that was due to expire at month’s end. Face coverings will be mandatory until the end of the year, unless circumstances allow for the bylaw to be revoked sooner. “This bylaw requires individuals to wear a face-covering in public places, public areas of businesses, places of worship and municipal buildings as well as common areas of multi-residential buildings and taxi cabs,” explained public health official Richard Brooks as regional council met Tuesday afternoon. Unlike other municipalities, the onus to comply is placed on the individuals rather than business in the region, he added. “The important point here is that there was a policy decision at the time to focus in on the individuals and not on the businesses by making the businesses responsible for ensuring compli-
ance. The exception is that the bylaw requires owners and operators of these prescribed places to post signage requiring face coverings.” This week’s vote was the latest extension to a bylaw first introduced last July and subsequently extended in September when it became clear the pandemic was not coming to a swift end. Councillors heard arguments for and against the face-covering bylaw, with some calling for harsher penalties for those who fail to comply and others looking for measures to prevent discrimination against those who cannot wear a mask. In debating the motion put forth by regional Chair Karen Redman, Coun. Sue Foxton of North Dumfries suggested an earlier end-date to the bylaw, pointing to a growing sense of pandemic fatigue. “People keep hoping the vaccine will allow us to come back to some type of normal, to keep hoping we’ll get this under control. A six-month period is like a punch in the gut to people, especially those who have isolated for long →MASK MANDATE 7
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