Freedom Mostly

 Toronto Ontario Canada. 

As of 12:01 AM Monday March 21st, most of the regulations imposed upon the people of Ontario by the Provinciale government will be lifted, and the city of Toronto is following suit. Effectively, all public areas will be accessible without a mask; this includes settings such as retail stores, bars, restaurants, gyms, community centres or museums. This means shopping at St. Lawrence market will once again be open for smiles.

Masks will continue to be mandatory in high-risk and congregate settings including on public transit, in long-term care and retirement homes, health-care settings and shelters. The public transit requirement is mostly understandable as more people will be going back to work and so more people will packed in together. The continuation for retirement homes and health-care also makes sense as these locations already contain people who are immune compromised. As for shelters, COVID-19 is the last thing I'm worried about catching.

Of course some has to think off the child. Toronto Children's Service will be working with Public Health and the Occupational Health and Safety. The care-givers will be required to mask-up when dealing with children and/or the children's family. 

The City of Toronto has also amended Bylaw 541-2020, the Mask Bylaw, so it expires some time soon. While I applaud this move by City Counsel, it is a move that should not have been needed to be taken. Almost every law or bylaw should be outfitted with a sunset clause; the purpose of this is to provide a persistent review. The reasons are: a) smaller simpler laws, b) a periodic review of the existing laws to ensure they remain current and c) a publicly available website showing which laws have been renewed and which laws are allowed to expire. 

For example: it is illegal to drag a dead horse along Yonge ST on a Sunday. So, if your horse dies near or on Yonge ST. dragging the carcasse between Monday and Saturday is perfectly legal. This law needs to be revisited and rewritten to include any and all animals. Below is a version of a law that I would like to see:

Dead Animals on Greater Toronto Area Fairways

 

To maintain a comfortable living and pleasurable public environment the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) citizens and visitors. 

1) Application:

(a) By order of THE CITY, no person of legal age shall willingly or knowingly drag by any means the carcasse of a dead animal upon any public path, sidewalk, road, street, avenue, byway, highway, or other fairway. 

(b)  Person(s) of legal age, shall be held in custody, the Police shall provide reasonable effort to ensure that the Person(s) of legal age shall be protected from the natural elements of nature. 

(c) Person(s) not of legal age, shall be held in custody until the parent(s) or guardian(s) are contacted and arrive to meet with police. Police shall provide reasonable effort to ensure that the 

Person(s) not of legal age shall be protected from the natural elements of nature. 

(d) The  parent(s) or guardian(s) of  the Person(s) not of legal age shall take upon themselves any judgement(s) or penalties applied by the courts. 

2) Enforcement:

(a) Any person(s) or their parent(s) or guardian(s) who assist in the removal of an animal 

carcasse under which they cross a public fairway shall be exempt from the enforcement or consequence under this order. 

 

(b) Any person(s) or their parent(s) or guardian(s) found to be guilty of this law may be subject up to thirty (30) days of incarceration and/or a fine of up to CAD 15,000.00. 

(c) Up to two thirds of monies collected will be provided to any agency or company who assists in the removal of the carcasse. 

 3) Expiry

(a) This order expires 365 days after the day of enactment or the proceeding Friday unless it is re-ratified within ten (10) business days before the expiry date. 

 

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Sources for this article:

City of Toronto Website, City of Tronto Press Release