While St Catharines city council unanimously voted to make face masks mandatory, some Thorold councilors are hesitant.
“I am not against the masks. I am against the process. I think masks should be mandated by our medical examiners. We are politicians, and people are sick and tired being dictated by politicians and told what to do,” said Coun. John Kenny during the Tuesday night meeting.
His remarks came after Mayor Terry Ugulini, who is in favor of making face masks mandatory, spoke about the upcoming Wednesday meeting in the regional council, which could result in a Niagara-wide decision to make masks a requirement.
While councilors Fred Neale, Carmen DeRose, and Jim Handley all spoke in favor of masks, some were not as unanimously positive.
“I am not for the mask. I agree with councilor Kenny, I don’t think it is up to us to tell people to wear a mask when they leave home. I have lots of people in my family that can’t wear masks. Vision problems, hearing problems, breathing problems, and this will absolutely stop them from leaving home. There are lots of articles that say the opposite about masks, that the droplets are so tiny that they will not be stopped by a mask,” stated coun. Victoria Wilson.
Councillor Nella Dekker called for more clarity on how a mask policy would be imposed.
“I understand that when you are going to a dentist or doctor's office that you would have to wear a mask, but we need more information. I hope tomorrow (Wednesday, editors note.) that we do get more specifics on wearing the masks, what locations we are looking at, and stuff like that.”
Public Health Acting Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Mustafa Hirji has echoed the advice coming from the medical community about the benefits of wearing a mask, and regularly encourages the practice in efforts to combat the deadly virus that has claimed the life of 61 Niagara residents.
He will be present during a special council meeting in the region, set to go ahead at 4:30 on Wednesday.
The meeting can be live-streamed here.
Zero new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Niagara on Wednesday.
