Toronto City Council votes in favour of lifting mask bylaw on March 21

Toronto City Council has voted overwhelmingly in favour of lifting its mask bylaw at the same time as the province.

Toronto’s mask bylaw wasn’t supposed to expire until April 8 but in a report that was considered by city council today, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa recommended that the bylaw be revoked as soon as the province lifts its mandate.

Council ultimately voted 24-1 in favour of de Villa’s recommendation, paving the way for the bylaw to be scrapped as of March 21 when the province has said that it will remove masking requirements in most settings, with the exception of public transit, long-term care and retirement homes, health-care settings, congregate care settings, shelters and jails.

The province has set April 27 as the date to remove the mask mandate in all remaining settings.

“Toronto is at a dramatically different point in the pandemic compared to when the mask bylaw came into effect. In June 2020, there was limited knowledge of the COVID-19 virus, no access to vaccines, and very few members of the public were immune as a result of an infection,” de Villa wrote.

“The city’s mask bylaw was always intended to be time-limited and was enacted at a time when a city-wide bylaw was required to manage the significant health risks posed by COVID-19 when there was either no vaccine or, later, when the population was only partially vaccinated. Fortunately, given the high rate of vaccine coverage and current epidemiological trends, Toronto can consider removing these regulations in concert with the Government of Ontario.

The city’s mask bylaw has been in effect since July 7, 2020 and predates the provincial requirement which went into effect later that month.

In her report, de Villa said that lifting the bylaw “does not preclude individuals from wearing a mask” and noted that “Toronto Public Health continues to recommend wearing well-fitted, high-quality masks, particularly in crowded indoor spaces with limited ventilation.”

Ward 18 Coun. John Filion was the only member to vote against de Villa’s recommendation.

During the meeting, Filion said that while de Villa has done a “magnificent job” throughout the pandemic, he is concerned that it is “too soon” to lift the mask mandate.

He also said that his “version of learning to live with COVID means learning to live with a relatively small inconvenience of wearing masks to protect all of us.”

“I think we are doing it now because the province is doing it now and I just think the province is acting too soon,” he said.

While the city is set to repeal its mask bylaw on March 21, a separate mandatory mask policy for the TTC that was introduced in June 2020 remains in effect for the time being.

Speaking with CP24 earlier in the day, TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said that the mandatory mask policy for vehicles and stations will remain in effect until at least April 27 and could remain beyond then.

“We will let our customers know if and when that changes, because as most people recall, our board changed and approved our revised bylaws in June of 2020. So our board will have to make a decision about changing that back again,” he said.