January 13, 2021
This week, the Government of Ontario declared a second Provincial Emergency and will be issuing a stay-at-home order and enhanced public health and workplace safety measures for all of Ontario. The combination of measures will come into effect between Tuesday, January 12 and Thursday, January 14, 2021.
The new measures encourage everyone to stay at home as much as possible except for essential purposes such as for food, health-care services including medication, exercise or work, where someone’s job cannot be done at home.
Today at General Committee, support for sick pay benefits for low income workers was discussed and a motion will be brought to Council next week.
“We know that high numbers of COVID-19 cases are occurring among essential workers who are temporarily or precariously employed and who continue to go into work when they are sick because they fear losing a paycheque and don’t have adequate sick pay to protect them,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “This is a glaring gap that needs to be immediately addressed. The Province and the federal government need to work together to immediately implement 10 mandated and accessible sick days to all employees in Ontario to help curb the spread of COVID-19 amongst essential workers.”
Second Provincial Emergency: Stay-at-home Order & Enhanced Measures
The Government of Ontario will be issuing a stay-at-home order requiring everyone to remain at home with exceptions for essential purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for exercise or for essential work. All businesses must ensure that any employee who can work from home, does work from home.
In addition to existing restrictions further restrictions include, but are not limited to:
- Outdoor organized public gatherings and social gatherings are further restricted to a limit of five people with limited exceptions. This is consistent with the rules during the lockdown during the first wave of COVID-19 in spring 2020 and will allow individuals and families to enjoy time outdoors safely.
- Individuals are required to wear a mask or face covering in the indoor areas of businesses or organizations that are open. Wearing a mask or face covering is now recommended outdoors when you can’t physically distance more than two metres.
- All non-essential retail stores, including hardware stores, alcohol retailers, and those offering curbside pickup or delivery, must open no earlier than 7 a.m. and close no later than 8 p.m. The restricted hours of operation do not apply to stores that primarily sell food, pharmacies, gas stations, convenience stores, and restaurants for takeout or delivery.
- Non-essential construction is further restricted, including below-grade construction, exempting survey.
These measures will come into effect at midnight on Thursday, January 14, 2021, including the provincial declaration of emergency under the EMCPA, orders under that Act, and amendments to regulations under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020.
New Enforcement Measures
The province is providing authority to all enforcement and provincial offences officers, including police, bylaw officers, including Mississauga By-law Enforcement, and provincial workplace inspectors to issue tickets to individuals who do not comply with the stay-at-home-order, or those not wearing a mask or face covering indoors as well as retail operators and companies who do not enforce. Those who decide not to abide by orders will be subject to set fines and/or prosecution under both the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, (ROA) and EMCPA.
In addition, all enforcement personnel, including Mississauga By-law Enforcement, will have the authority to temporarily close a premise and disperse individuals who are in contravention of an order and will be able to disperse people who are gathering, regardless whether a premise has been closed or remains open such as a park or house.
If you have questions about what will be open or impacts to businesses or employment, call the Stop the Spread Business Information Line at 1-888-444-3659.
Impact on City services
At this time, access to City services online and by appointment as per COVID-19 restrictions continues. For more information on City services, please visit Mississauga.ca/covid. This information is subject to change based on understanding Provincial Regulations which have not yet been issued (at time of publication).
Resources
- Learn about symptoms of COVID-19
- Find out where to get tested for COVID-19 in Mississauga
- Access information on how to self-isolate
- Resources for small businesses
You can also download the COVID-19 Alert app that can let you know of potential exposures.
The City of Mississauga continues to work closely with its health care partners and the Province and will continue to monitor Mississauga’s and Peel Region’s situation closely.
For the latest updates on the City of Mississauga’s COVID-19 recovery and response visit: mississauga.ca/covid.