York Region and provincial enforcement officers will be out in full force for the Black Friday weekend at malls, big box stores and other retail outlets, and will be issuing tickets and potentially shutting down any businesses allowing overcrowding to occur.
In a continued effort to stem the increase in COVID-19 cases that have put neighbouring Toronto and Peel in lockdown by the province, York Region council today endorsed increased enforcement against businesses that are not complying with the orders and regulations of the region’s medical officer of health and the province’s reopening act.
Municipal bylaw and provincial Ministry of Labour officers and York Region Public Health investigators will be leading the enforcement blitz, with the support of York Regional Police officers if required for safety or security, and Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
The weekend blitz reflects the region’s move from education and awareness to enforcement of COVID-19 regulations by penalizing with fines and closures of those not in compliance.
“Now nine months into a global pandemic, we know residents and businesses are showing a general apathy to following public health guidelines. An overall perception of a lack of enforcement may also be resulting in businesses and residents reverting to normal or less COVID-friendly behaviours,” York Region CAO Bruce Macgregor said.
Regional council agreed that enforcement should be increased against businesses, as well as individuals, who are not complying with restrictions on the number of people at gatherings, mandatory masks and face coverings and physical distancing “as an important element to stopping the spread of COVID-19.”
Businesses that are not complying will be subject to fines and potential closures.
York Region is launching a four-week education and awareness campaign focusing on enforcement fines and expectations for businesses, but that will also recognize businesses and residents who follow guidelines, he said.
While the majority of businesses are complying with regulations, Macgregor said, "it’s also intended to vigorously enforce fines on owners and operators who fail to comply.”
Enforcement results will be made public, as well as the names of businesses that are fined.
Council also approved an additional $250,000 to support a marketing and advertising campaign.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor requested that capacity limits be publicly posted at all mall entrances.
Upper Canada and Hillcrest malls are posting real-time capacity on their websites, said Joe La Marca, York Region director of health protection, and most are limiting capacity in their common areas at well below 50 per cent. Individual retailers in the malls are responsible for curtailing capacity in their stores.
Malls operators are being asked to let "their patrons know it's going to be a new sort of shopping season, that they can expect line-ups," La Marca said.
"I think we're being very reasonable and very cooperative with this direction, in the sense that we're allowing them to ... set limits and that we're not imposing limits, per se. I think the requirement to post those publicly is very reasonable," Taylor responded. "It should be, in my opinion, required."
"It's a great idea," Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti said regarding the requirement that capacity limits be posted publicly, so shoppers can report any violations.
Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Iain Lovatt also expressed concerns about the monitoring of capacity at malls because of their multiple entrances.
"The common area in a mall could be absolutely crammed ... especially tomorrow, there could be thousands of people in our malls in York Region, which is actually a scary proposition," Lovatt said.
"So I don't know if there is anything more that could be done ... I'm sure there's a way to let people know that the mall is almost at capacity. Whether people care or not, I guess it's going to be up to them if we're not going to have people stopping them from entering. But is there anything we could do?" he asked.
Many malls are able to electronically monitor the number of people entering and exiting, and operators have been asked to increase the number of people employed as ambassadors and security so they can react quickly to ensure capacity limits are not exceeded, La Marca said.
As well, stores with exterior doors have been asked to close access from the mall to help limit common area capacity, he added.
"I'm glad to see, finally, that there is an enhanced enforcement approach. It's long overdue and expected, certainly, by our residents and, I'll say, our businesses," Scarpitti said.
"Our success rate in getting to those violators has been abysmal," he added.
However, this week, more than 20 charges have been laid in York Region, including for a restaurant with 50 people in it, Scarpitti said.
"That is the action that our residents and our businesses are expecting us to take for violators. That's exactly what they want to see, because they're sick and tired ..."
From Thursday, Nov. 19 to Sunday, Nov. 22, York Region Public Health inspectors conducted 32 inspections at restaurants, big box stores, supermarkets, fitness facilities and karaoke bars, resulting in 22 charges laid at 19 premises.
Last weekend, Nov. 21 and 22, 14 Ministry of Labour officers conducted a weekend safety blitz in York Region. Of the 77 visits to grocery stores and big box retailers, 80 per cent were following the regulations, according to regional spokesperson Patrick Casey.
No charges were laid, he added, as compliance was achieved with assistance from the officers on site.
Common areas of non-compliance included no active screening, improper mask usage and physical distancing, Casey said.
