Halton Regional Police Service now equipped with ClearMasks™

News 100 yellowBy Staff

August 12th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

The wearing of face coverings/masks is known to pose a significant barrier to the Deaf community, as masks make it harder to lip read and understand sign language.

To better serve the demographics of our community, while continuing to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19, Halton Regional Police Service officers are now equipped with ClearMasks™.

Police - with mask“Our ability to communicate with the members of our community is absolutely essential,” says Halton Regional Police Service Deputy Chief Roger Wilkie. “With guidance and input from the Bob Rumball Canadian Centre of Excellence for the Deaf, we have now removed a significant communications barrier.”

“By introducing ClearMasksTM within Halton Regional Police Service, anyone from the Deaf community can now have more accessible dialogue with police officers,” says Jayne Leang, Director of Business Relations at the Bob Rumball Canadian Centre of Excellence for the Deaf.

“In an emergency situation, allowing a person who is Deaf or hard-of-hearing the opportunity to see the officer’s facial expression or attempt to read their lips, helps in the exchange of potentially life-saving information.”

These Health Canada-approved masks feature a transparent window, allowing the mouth to be fully protected, while fully visible, for those who use speech reading, lip reading or who are profoundly deaf and use American Sign Language, which is heavily dependent on facial expressions

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1 comment to Halton Regional Police Service now equipped with ClearMasks™

  • Penny Hersh

    I applaud the Halton Regional Police in using “ClearMasks” I have to question the effectiveness of this model. There are much more effective clear masks available to the public.

    This mask does not cover the sides of the face effectively, and does it have a tight fit. I was involved with a volunteer organization that sewed over 3,000 reusable fabric masks that were donated to the Burlington Food Bank, Wellington Square ( to be included with their cooked meals), Wellington Terrace and Bonnie Place subsidized living.

    I will forward to the Gazette a more effective clear mask. I also think it would be a better product if the the clear vinyl area rather than being sewn in be velcro’d in. This would allow the vinyl to be removed ( and cleaned with disinfectant) and the fabric part could be washed in the washing machine.

    It has been proven to have a proper mask, not simply “a mask. So many that are on the market are not effective.