Municipality of Chatham-Kent Council adjusted their local masking by-law at their virtual meeting on Monday, November 8, 2021.
West Kent Councillor Mark Authier entered a successful motion on Monday, after providing notice of the motion last month.
“The Provincial Government has a mask mandate in effect for all of Ontario (and) Chatham-Kent has a Mask By-law with similar regulations,” Authier said, adding that the Provincial Government has released a timeline for the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates.
By a vote 13-5, Chatham-Kent Council amended the mask by-law, to add a new section, which states that the by-law will expire at the time the Provincial Government removes the mandate for masks in pubic spaces.
Dr. David Colby, Chatham-Kent’s Medical Officer of Health, called Chatham-Kent’s mask bylaw “redundant” in comparison to the provincial rules and regulations that are currently being enforced.
“We don’t want to mislead the public in terms of what’s going on,” Dr. Colby said, adding that he didn’t see any reason to have both in place at the same time.
Even after the Provincial mask mandate is removed, Colby said he could implement masking rules locally if it was deemed necessary.
The Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, released A Plan to Safely Reopen Ontario and Manage COVID-19 for the Long-Term back in October, which outlines the province’s gradual approach to lifting remaining public health and workplace safety measures by March 2022.
More details can be read, here.
