RICHMOND, B.C. -- The City of Richmond is looking at making masks mandatory inside all municipal facilities, such as recreation centres and libraries, and CTV News has learned the idea is also going to be raised in Vancouver.

Richmond’s proposed mask requirement for city buildings was approved unanimously at a committee meeting on Monday. There would be exceptions in some cases, including children under five and people engaged in strenuous exercise.

Mayor Malcolm Brodie said people who don’t have a mask would be offered one. Refusal of service is possible for those who won’t comply.

“With the prevalence of people wearing masks in Richmond, it should prove not that difficult to introduce,” Brodie said. “Because social distancing is so imprecise, we think it’s better to say just wear the mask.”

Delta already has a mask requirement for city buildings in place, and CTV News has learned Vancouver councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung will be bringing forward a similar motion in her city.

“I think this is just about modelling good behaviour and making sure that people are comfortable in getting back into and using our civic facilities,” Kirby-Yung said, and added her motion will be coming to council on Oct. 20.

“I think that mask-wearing is well-accepted now,” she said. “People are becoming more comfortable with it and doing it in their daily lives...I’m hopeful with good education and good signage that we’d have strong compliance.”

A recent Simon Fraser University study looking at mask mandates across Ontario’s 34 public health units over a two-month period this summer found the policies were associated with a 25 per cent or larger drop in weekly cases. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Economics professor Alexander Karaivanov said the impact may not be as dramatic in British Columbia, where a lot of people are already wearing masks. Mask-wearing rates weren’t initially very high in Ontario before the mandatory requirements. However, Karaivanov said it could prevent people from getting too relaxed about taking precautions.

“There could be this kind of COVID fatigue and people getting tired of wearing masks, especially if cases start plateauing,” Karaivanov said. “Maybe the mandate would still keep people doing the right thing, wearing the masks.”

Fellow researcher and associate professor of economics Hitoshi Shigeoka said even if mask-wearing rates are high, there can still be a goal of greater compliance.

“It’s only 80 per cent right now, so it can still go to 100,” he said. “I guess in this sense, a mask mandate could still have some effect. There’s some room to really improve.”

However, not everyone thinks a mask requirement is a good idea.

Richmond’s medical health officer Dr. Meena Dawar provided input to the city in the form of a letter, and indicated she favoured other precautions over mandating masks.

“There is little justification for a mandatory mask policy and I recommend that it not be pursued,” Dr. Dawar wrote, and added buying masks could create “additional financial costs for already stretched households,” as well as create potential barriers for people who cannot wear masks due to certain medical conditions.

“In the hierarchy of measures public health has recommended to prevent transmission since the beginning of the pandemic, non-medical mask wearing is one of the lowest,” Dawar wrote.

Brodie said the medical health officer’s opinion was weighed “very heavily.”

“I can only speak for myself ... I think it’s better safe than sorry,” Brodie said.

Richmond’s proposal will come to city council next week for a final vote.