Prince Edward County has pre-emptively passed a by-law to end the masking mandate.
Council passed a motion to rescind the requirement of face masks in public spaces on the same date in which the Province of Ontario lifts the mandate.
CAO Marcia Wallace says the municipality has received a lot of pushback regarding the wearing of masks.
“If you remember, our mask policy applies to farm markets and farm stands as well as public buildings that are owned by the municipality,” Wallace said. “Right now we are defending the provincial rules, and still getting a lot of push back. In the end we felt we would keep the mask by-law for as long as the province has any kind of mask mandate, and once the province has fully lifted we rescind at the same time.”
A by-law to end the CAO’s authority for Prince Edward County in response to COVID-19 was also rescinded effective March 8, 2022.
Councillor Phil Prinzen also asked that a third clause be added to be the motion to explore the need of the vaccination policy.
Councillors approved the motion to have staff explore the ongoing need of the county’s internal vaccination policy and provide a report for the April 10 meeting as well.
