GTHA Mayors and Chairs welcome provincial and federal governments taking action to protect public health

HAMILTON, ON – Today, Mayors and Chairs from the 11 largest municipal governments across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area held their regular weekly meeting to discuss the ongoing response to COVID-19 across the region.

The Mayors and Chairs welcomed the coming move by the Government of Ontario to mandate vaccines for hospital and long-term care workers. This would be a good step forward that will better protect some of our most vulnerable residents and our frontline heroes who work in hospitals and long-term care homes.

The Mayors and Chairs also welcomed the Government of Canada's move last week to proceed with a proof of vaccination system and to mandate vaccinations for federal workers and air and interprovincial train passengers.

We believe it is important for all governments to move as quickly as possible to address this health issue and do everything we can to further encourage residents to get vaccinated.

We also remind our residents of the very important continuing need to respect other public health measures that remain in place including the wearing of masks and capacity limits, especially as they relate to indoor settings.

Our public health officials are clear that a fourth wave is here and that the Delta Variant poses a real threat to our progress.

The impact of another lockdown would be devastating to the economy of the GTHA so we support any actions taken by the relevant governments to protect the health of all residents and encourage vaccination.

“Given that we are now in a fourth wave, it is more important than ever to remember the basics. Wear a mask, social distance, and most importantly, get vaccinated. The COVID-19 vaccine offers the best protection against severe disease and hospitalizations. In hopes of curbing the case numbers and to protect our re-opening, Hamilton City Council has called on the provincial and federal governments to implement further action against COVID-19, including mandatory vaccines and proof of immunization.”

- Mayor Fred Eisenberger