Mississauga and Brampton mask mandates could lift next month

Brampton | Caledon | Mississauga | COVID | Latest News |

By

Published March 2, 2022 at 11:29 am

Mask mandates in Mississauga and Brampton may soon be a thing of the past, but some Peel Region businesses could choose to keep the measures in place.

Premier Doug Ford has said the province may be dropping its mask requirements soon, and Peel’s top doctor says local bylaws will likely follow suit next month if and when the province eases restrictions.

Peel Region’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Lawrence Loh said on Wednesday (March 2) that he’s not likely to recommend extending mask bylaws in Mississauga and Brampton when they are set to expire at the end of March.

“At this point in time our trends here in Peel reflect those elsewhere in Ontario,” Loh said at a press conference. “So I can share that here in Peel if our trends were to remain the same at the time that the local masking bylaws are up for review at the end of March, I would likely not recommend the extension of them,” Loh said, adding that officials will still “need to continue to watch the trends carefully.”

At a Brampton City Council meeting on Wednesday, the city’s Chief Administrative Officer Paul Morrison said local businesses will still have the option to require guests or customers to wear masks indoors, saying “it’s going to be the store’s choice.” Morrison said.

RELATED: Brampton drops proof of vaccination for city-run facilities

“The business owns the property, the property decides what rules they’re going to put in as long as they don’t infringe on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, so we’re going to leave it to the (individual) stores,” Morrision said.

With Alberta dropping its mask mandates and Quebec planning to drop masking for kids in schools after March break, Brampton’s Mayor Patrick Brown has called on the province to consider scrapping Ontario mask mandates.

“I certainly think this is something the province can move on,” Brown said on Wednesday, adding that he believes it’s “important to get back to normal as a society.”

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said last week that when mask mandates are removed for public settings they will simultaneously be lifted in schools, although mandates could continue in some high-risk settings.

As of Tuesday, Ontario dropped proof of COVID-19 vaccination requirements for businesses and organisations, and Brampton has removed proof of vaccination requirements and capacity limits at all city-run recreation centres and performing arts venues.

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising