The charter as you cite provides provision for prohibiting discrimination on grounds of religion or disability.
While a property and business may be privately owned, it's licensed under provincial regulation. When you provide service or goods as a business pursuant to license and you are open to the public, you extend an invitation to any member of the public to buy your goods and services. Once you open a business under a license, you are bound by provincial laws whether it's privately owned or not. So you are bound by the masking laws and its exceptions, as well as the human rights code. You cannot say this is private property so get lost. That's illegal. It can get you charged under the provincial offenses act and sued by the patron.
Business owners are required to convey that people who enter their premises are masked. However that is only half of the law. The other half of the law is that there are exceptions. Those exceptions include medical (whether they be physical or psychological, difficulty putting on a mask, and any grounds under the various human rights codes under the provinces including religions and creeds). If a patron says, "I'm exempt", businesses have absolutely no right to demand proof.
Trespass an offence
2 (1) Every person who is not acting under a right or authority conferred by law...is guilty of an offense.
It is trespassing if the owner asks you to leave ONLY IF you are there NOT acting under a right or authority conferred by law. Exercising masking exemption IS a right conferred by law.
*Exemptions include children under two years old, people who cannot wear a mask or face covering for medical reasons, those who require accommodation in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and others as listed in the organization's equired mask policy. Proof of exemption is not required.
Um...nope. Wrong. Very, very wrong.
The charter as you cite provides provision for prohibiting discrimination on grounds of religion or disability.
While a property and business may be privately owned, it's licensed under provincial regulation. When you provide service or goods as a business pursuant to license and you are open to the public, you extend an invitation to any member of the public to buy your goods and services. Once you open a business under a license, you are bound by provincial laws whether it's privately owned or not. So you are bound by the masking laws and its exceptions, as well as the human rights code. You cannot say this is private property so get lost. That's illegal. It can get you charged under the provincial offenses act and sued by the patron.
Business owners are required to convey that people who enter their premises are masked. However that is only half of the law. The other half of the law is that there are exceptions. Those exceptions include medical (whether they be physical or psychological, difficulty putting on a mask, and any grounds under the various human rights codes under the provinces including religions and creeds). If a patron says, "I'm exempt", businesses have absolutely no right to demand proof.
Reopening Ontario A Flexible Response to COVID-19 Act, 2020. This law applies across Ontario and prevails over any municipal bylaw that contradicts this regulation.
Exemptions under the act relevant to this case include:
(4)(g) has a medical condition that inhibits their ability to wear a mask or face covering;
(h) is unable to put on or remove their mask or face covering without the assistance of another person;
(j) is being accommodated in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005;
(k) ** is being reasonably accommodated in accordance with the Human Rights Code**
The Trespass to Property Act of Ontario DOES NOT apply when exercising masking exemption since the act states:
Trespass an offence 2 (1) Every person who is not acting under a right or authority conferred by law...is guilty of an offense.
It is trespassing if the owner asks you to leave ONLY IF you are there NOT acting under a right or authority conferred by law. Exercising masking exemption IS a right conferred by law.
http://www.greenstone.ca/sites/greenstone.civicwebcms.com/files/media/09000%20-%20COVID-19%20-%20Masks%20are%20Required%20to%20Enter%20-%20With%20Exceptions%20-%20Sign.jpg
*Exemptions include children under two years old, people who cannot wear a mask or face covering for medical reasons, those who require accommodation in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and others as listed in the organization's equired mask policy. Proof of exemption is not required.