St. Catharines will vote on bylaw mandating face masks as tourism grows

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 issueon Wednesday.

St. Catharines city council voted on Monday to draft a temporary bylaw requiring that businesses only allow peopleto enter if they're wearing a mask.

Likewise, the bylaw will say that employees working with the public in an enclosed spaceshouldalso be required to wear a mask or face covering.

The masks must be worn, themotion 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 Sendzikvoiced 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 wantto 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 alsobe exempt.

The rules will apply to St. Catharinesbusinesses 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'sdirector 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, citycouncil still has to ratify it next week.

Brock University in St. Catharines has also said masks are mandatory on campus.