Policies for Recovery: Mandatory Masks?

The Peterborough Chamber of Commerce recently reached out to its membership on the subject of a mandatory mask policy for Peterborough.  The Peterborough Chamber represents over 900 businesses of all sizes and industries in both the city and county.  Peterborough Public Health is continuing discussions on the topic and we saw an opportunity to hear directly from the business community on the issue.

The survey was sent out earlier this week and in less than 24 hours over 200 responses came in.

• 69% of respondents were in favour of a mandatory mask policy
• 30% of respondents were not in favour of a mandatory mask policy 

In addition to the yes or no question, we asked, “why or why not” and received over 170 written responses.  In reading through the responses various themes emerged as to why such a policy should or should not be considered.  Some of the responses also outlined the issue and brought to light further concerns.

For those who were in favour of a policy the themes behind their reasoning included:

• Community protection/ Prevent the spread of the virus
• Consumer confidence
• Protect workers and customers
• Contain the virus and help the economy
• Continuity of practice from business to business
• Avoid a second wave
• Reduce liability

For those who were not in favour of such a policy their reasoning included:

• Science doesn’t prove masking is an effective practice
• Hard to communicate
• False sense of security
• Concern marginalized will be negatively impacted
• Other methods already in place (e.g. plexi-glass shields)
• Differences between industry – a blanket rule is difficult
• Concern about enforcement (business vs. customer)
• Environmental concerns (more garbage)

There were a number of respondents who indicated that they would rather have a choice because:

• Numbers are low
• Loss of choice could add to anxiety and other conditions

There were some responses that offered further commentary on the topic:

• Small businesses may be disadvantaged because of the lack of a policy – unlevel playing field
• Medical reasons not to wear a mask
• Timing too late (should have happened at the beginning of Phase 2)

Respondents identified themselves as being from varying sectors of our economy.  However, there are a few interesting takeaways from the sectoral breakdown.   

Our Health Care and Wellness members were evenly divided on whether or not a mandatory mask policy was required.   

Our members in the Business and Professional Services category were overwhelmingly in favour of a mandatory mask policy.  The same sentiment continued through the Shopping and Specialty Retail and Real Estate and Construction members.

In fact, none of the membership groups were wholly against a mandatory policy.

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