Mayor Darrin Canniff does not have any current plans to envoke a mandatory mask by-law, unless it is advised by CK Public Health.
Mayor Canniff told local media in this week’s teleconference that he doesn’t plan to step-in on the matter in the same way that Mayor Mike Bradley and Sarnia City Council has.
Face masks are now mandatory in public spaces within the city of Sarnia as of Friday morning.
Mayor Canniff says council does have the power to over-ride the health unit, but he does not plan to do so.
“We’ve been managing the last five months with Dr Colby making the calls from a health perspective. And that’s the way it should stay,” says Canniff. “As far as health concerns, we need to de-politicize decisions based on health. That’s what Dr. Colby’s role is and we default over to his expertise.”
There are local petitions on both sides of the mask debate in Chatham-Kent.
The “Support Mandatory Masks for Chatham-Kent” online group is set to present their petition to council in the upcoming August 10th virtual meeting. Council will discuss and could present further motions towards a mandate. As of Friday afternoon, the petition had 1,500 signatures.
