Re: municipal masking bylaws

I’m starting a thread documenting the municipal masking bylaws/orders in the 34 PHUs, & how they apply to workers in employee-only work spaces (eg restaurant or bar kitchens!)

@Sue_Innovates @LadyScorcher Thought this thread might interest u

N.B I’m not a lawyer, so bear that in mind when reading my tweets.

I find that many people are incredulous when they hear that municipal masking bylaws that cover retail and food service establishments do not apply to employee-only areas in those same establishments.

Two things that strike me when I read these bylaws/ orders:

1) The bylaws/ orders are designed to protect customers, not to protect workers

2) When referring to “members of the public”, “the public” does not seem to include employees

I’ve read that ~50% of all Covid cases in Ontario do not have a known source.

Last week Toronto’s MOH said that workplace infections in bars and restaurants are predominantly affecting STAFF, rather than customers.

& it’s not always clear from PH reports how many cases are the result of workplace exposure.

Eg on Sept 19 @thespec reported that some recent cases in #hamont were the result of “workplace exposures”. But the city’s website doesn’t include data on this type of exposure .

Last Friday @dmrider wrote a very interesting article on gaps in provincial and municipal masking bylaws/ orders .

In this article @KashPrime is qted as saying: “One weakness in all of the mask bylaws in Ontario & across Canada is they exempted workplaces”.

The @dmrider article also states that T.O is reviewing ways to extend the masking order to employee-only workplaces partly b/c they have seen virus spread there.

So that’s good news for Toronto. But what about Ontario’s remaining 33 PHUs & their workplace masking orders?

As I mentioned earlier, many people are surprised to hear that municipal masking orders do not include employee-only work spaces, eg restaurant kitchens.

My goal in writing this thread is

1) to document the masking bylaws/ orders for the 34 PHUs, including their exemptions

2) to raise awareness of this so that we can push for municipalities and/ or the province to extend masking bylaws to employee-only spaces, in order to protect workers!

N.B again- I am not a lawyer. If I have misunderstood something, please let me know.

1) Let’s start with WIndsor, @TheWECHU

Windsor has a masking order under Subsection 4(1) of the Emergency Management & Civil Protection Act.

It states that the operator of a public place that is open to the public needs to make sure that members of the public wear masks...

...but it also includes this exemption:

“A Public Place does NOT include...places within a Public Place which are accessible only by employees of the Public Place”

(Reminder again- I am not a lawyer. If I am getting this wrong, pls let me know!)

2) Moving on to Peel @regionofpeel

The website states that “In Peel, it’s now mandatory to wear a mask inside public spaces to help,prevent the spread of Covid-19”.

Peel consists of 3 cities, Brampton, Caledon, & Mississauga, and each has its own masking bylaw.

Starting with Brampton: Brampton has put in place a bylaw (By-law 135-2020) that requires people entering a public establishment to wear a face covering ...

But it also includes an exemption under Part 6 that states that the following people are exempted: “employees and agents of an Operator or a Municipality within an area not for public access, or within or behind a physical barrier”. .....

If you go to the city of Brampton’s website, it has a section with information for business owners. It states here that

“The by-law also provides an exemption for employees working in areas not accessible by the public...”,

& it includes a chart that outlines exemptions

Let’s move on to Caledon:

They have a bylaw (no. 2020-47) that states that people entering a Public Establishment need to wear a face covering ....

...but there is also an exemption under Part 5 that says that “The following Persons shall be exempt from wearing a Face Covering...employees and agents of the Operator Municipality within an area not for public access, or within or behind a physical barrier”

Caledon has a web page with resources for businesses. On this page it again states that “Employees must wear a face covering EXCEPT in areas where the public does not have access or where the employees are behind a barrier”

Moving on to Mississauga:

Mississauga has a masking bylaw (0169-2020), that states that people must wear a face covering when entering a Public Establishment ...

...but again, there is an exemption under Part 5 that states that people who are exempt from the bylaw includes “employees and agents of the Operator or Municipality within an area not for public access, or within or behind a physical barrier”

Now for 3) Toronto.

They have a bylaw (541-2020) that states that that members of the public wear a Mask or Face Covering when entering an enclosed space of an Establishment

But, again, there is an exemption in the bylaw, under 2.a.4, that says that the following group is exempt:

“employees or agents responsible for the Establishment within an area designated for them and not for public access, or within or behind a physical barrier”

On the City of Toronto’s website, under “Information for Business Owners & Operators”, there is a chart that outlines where masks are mandated & where they are not.

Its stated exclusions include restaurant and bar kitchens.

4) Moving on to Durham...

The Durham masking mandate appears to have been issued by its MOH, under the Emergency Management & Civil Protection Act.

The Covid-19 fact sheet for this region (I can’t find other documentation) states that masks must be worn in 3 areas...

This fact sheet also states that “these restrictions do not apply to business offices that are not open to the public”.

Moving on to 5) Haldimand-Norfolk, @HNHealthUnit :

They have a bylaw, Face Coverings By-Law No. 2191/ 20, that divided “Enclosed Public Spaces” into 2 categories:

-Category 1 includes retail stores & banks
-Category 2 includes restaurants & services

They define “ Enclosed Public Space” as “all, or any portion of a building that is located a. Indoors and b. Where the public is ordinarily invited or permitted access to”.

I don’t see a def here of who “the public” is, but we’ve already established that it isn’t workers .

The guidelines for Category 1 (stores, etc) and Category 2 (restaurants, services, etc) are a bit different.

Part 3 of the bylaw (Category 1) prohibits people from entering or remaining “in the public areas of the Enclosed Public Space” w/o a face covering. but....

...Part 4 of the bylaw addresses Category 2 businesses (eg restaurants) & says that the policy exempts workers “from wearing a face covering when they are

- “in an area of the premises where the public is not permitted access” (RESTAURANT KITCHENS!!)
- behind a physical barrier

On the Haldimand County website they have a section of FAQs for business operators.

2 questions are relevant.

The first is “What if my establishment is not open to the public?”

The second is “Are employees required to wear face coverings?”

Check out the answers below!

Moving on to

6) Halton

Halton has a masking bylaw (bylaw 47-20), and it states that people must wear a non-medical mask/ face covering when inside “an enclosed Public Space”.

. ........but.....

Again there’s an exemption, this time under Section 6.ix, that exempts the following from wearing a mask:

“Employees & agents of the person responsible for the Public Place within an area designated for them and not for public access, or within or behind a physical barrier”

Halton has information on their website for businesses.

One of the FAQ’s is “Which indoor places are exempt?”

Included on this list is “staff-only areas within a public place” and “ indoor areas of a building accessible to only employees”

(I think that I’ve missed a reply, hope this fixes it, click below to continue)

https://twitter.com/nomip2020/status/1308169869825900544