Mask transit: TTC, GO and taxis will still require face coverings after mandate lifts March 21
CBC
Walking into the TTC's Main Street Station, Cliff Mushapaidze is putting on his face mask and looking forward to the day he won't have to.
"Get rid of them, man. You can't breathe. You can't even see if someone is smiling at you."
Mushapaidze wasn't smiling when he heard passengers will still need masks to ride public transit for a while longer. Although many experts say face coverings are effective in slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus in indoor settings, and some public health officials say it may be too soon to lift the mandates, he doesn't believe face masks are accomplishing enough to offset the inconvenience when he wears them.
"It's very hard to communicate," he said.
With the most recent wave of COVID-19 infections on the wane in much of the province, the Ontario government announced a significant shift in masking rules on Wednesday. While face covering requirements will be lifted elsewhere on March 21, public transit is one of several settings in which the government will still require them until April 27.
While the day mask mandates lift can't come soon enough for some transit riders, others don't mind masking up until the end of April. Kevin Herron is planning to do it even longer.
"I'm going to keep my mask on while I'm on the TTC probably for a while," he said after getting off the subway Wednesday.
"I do it more for other people than me. I'm not a big fan of masks out in public, but when I'm on TTC or in crowded places, I wear one," Herron said.
Face coverings will be required on all Toronto transit buses, subway trains, streetcars and stations until "at least" April 27, spokesperson Stuart Green tweeted on Wednesday. The TTC did not offer any further comment about its future plans for face covering requirements.
"Any changes in our policy will be publicly announced at an appropriate time," Green wrote.
Masks will also be required beyond March 21 on GO Transit buses, trains and in its stations, according to Metrolinx, the province's regional transit agency for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
GO service is getting busier with more restrictions being lifted and more offices requiring in-person attendance, says Anne Marie Aikins, Metrolinx spokesperson.
GO Transit staff will also be required to wear masks on the job.
"Our ultimate goal is to keep everyone safe," Aikins said.
As classes across New Brunswick pause for the holidays, it’s not yet clear which schools are making a dent in chronic absenteeism — a stubborn post-pandemic trend that mostly afflicts the high school cohort, especially in the Anglophone West school district.
CBC Quebec has launched its Make the Season Kind campaign. It's our annual campaign that focuses on food insecurity, while also celebrating kindness, generosity and community spirit around the province.
Premier Wab Kinew says Manitoba will hold a public inquiry as soon as 2026 into the former Progressive Conservative government’s post-election efforts to approve an environmental licence for sand-mining company Sio Silica.
Premier Scott Moe has led the Saskatchewan Party through two straight elections, winning majority governments each time.
Eight weeks after adding a GM BrightDrop van to the fleet of his plumbing and heating business, Marty Salliss has no complaints, only praise.
Nearly half of Alberta’s Grade 6 students failed the provincewide math test in 2024, three years after the province started rolling out its new elementary school curriculum.
Toronto could get new cars on the road whose drivers will never get frustrated by gridlock — because the cars would be driving themselves.
Amidst a cost-of-living crisis, some London-area organizations say they have noticed a decline in donations this holiday season.
Prominent northern leaders have been touting the Arctic economic and security corridor as a "nation-building" project that will bring economic benefits to the two territories it straddles, but others are split on how much good will come out of it.
When the federal government tabled its 2025 budget last month, it included a proposal that tax fraud experts say is long overdue — if also a belated acknowledgement that the Canada Revenue Agency has been repeatedly duped into paying out untold millions in bogus tax refunds to scammers.
Talking with an AI chatbot can successfully convince people to change their votes and could affect the outcome of future elections, according to a new study.
While some are writing wishlists for Santa Claus, a group of Newfoundland and Labrador youth are writing their wishlist for the provincial government.
A horse owner near Stewiacke, N.S., says the current shortage of hay in the province is putting pressure on her financially.