Halton Region is drafting a bylaw for discussion/approval on July 15th should regional council move in that direction. The draft bylaw will be made available for viewing this Friday and will be discussed on July 15th at Halton Regions next council meeting.
You can visit www.halton.ca for the details and how you can register to speak virtually as a delegate should you wish.
It’s best to have a region wide bylaw and not 4 different ones that will inevitably cause confusion with residents. This should be the direction of Milton council at our meeting later this week. The virtual meeting will be held this Thursday July 9th at 4:30pm. You can visit www.milton.ca and get more details on how you can watch and/or participate as a delegate.
Halton Region being the tier of government that is responsible for public health should be where this bylaw is passed. As the draft gets sent to regional council members later this week we can discuss then. Milton Town Council can and should have a public discussion on pros and cons of mandatory masks but the actual bylaw should have the input from our Public Health department and that can be done on the 15th.
In addition to all these measures we will be asking for considerations of those who have a medical reason why they can’t wear a mask to be exempt. One item I will be recommending is a comprehensive and detailed education component so that people are taught how to properly wear masks ie washing them daily, properly removing them, storage etc. They shouldn’t be hung on the visors of our cars, worn multiple days without washing with soap, etc. If we’re going to do this, let’s ensure its done correctly.