Grande Prairie City Council gets first look at Temporary Mandatory Mask Bylaw Monday

“Just because the Bylaw is passed, does not mean that there is immediately a mandate for people to start wearing masks that day,” said Mayor Bill Given. “The Bylaw is structured in such a way that it is really relying on the public health situation in our local area.

“It is designed so that if the public health situation doesn’t warrant the use of masks to limit the spread of COVID-19, then the Bylaw does not become active.”

With that being what would trigger the Bylaw to take affect (again, if passed by City Council as it stands), both municipalities would have to remain below the “watch” threshold for 14 consecutive days for the Bylaw to no longer be in effect.

Given says including the County of Grande Prairie as a part of the Bylaw is important to the City, since many residents of both municipalities go between the two on a daily basis.

“The City and County are really not separate when it comes to public health matters,” said Given. “Really, when it comes to a matter like COVID-19, the differentiation between the City and County really doesn’t matter.”

As of the end of day Thursday, the City of Grande Prairie sits at a rate of 32.6 per 100,000 people with 24 active cases. The County of Grande Prairie sits just one active case below the threshold at 47.9 per 100,000 with its 15 active cases.

Under the Bylaw, as presented, businesses would be required to prominently advertise the mandate, when in effect, in a spot where people could easily see it on their way into the establishment. A fine of $200 could be levied under the Bylaw to businesses that do not comply.

Any individual found in contravention of the order would be fined up to $100, under the Bylaw (as it stands).

A copy of the draft Bylaw that will be presented to council can be found here.

Understanding the Bylaw process

As stated previously, the Bylaw will go before the Council Committee of the Whole, beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday, August 31. Anyone interested in taking in the discussion of the Bylaw can watch on the City of Grande Prairie’s YouTube channel.

For those interested in tuning in, Given provided a breakdown of what people can expect when they tune in.

“The first meeting, the Council Committee of the Whole meeting, is really a chance for council to ask questions of administration, potentially bring up changes or ideas that they would like to see in the Bylaw,” said Given. “It is really more of a working session on the details of the Bylaw.”

Should the Bylaw receive committee approval, as it stands, it would then be pushed to the special City Council meeting immediately afterwards. Committee may also ask for amendments to the Bylaw, which could mean the Bylaw will need to come back before council at a later date with those amendments.

If the Bylaw is sent to the City Council meeting, it will need to receive a majority vote from council on three readings before it can be enacted into law. Given says it is typical for council to hold all three readings on a Bylaw in a single meeting.

“That is actually quite a common occurrence over the last number of years, as we have made a lot of efforts to speed up a number of City processes. So, that is not an unusual occurrence.

“I appreciate that this might be the first time that a lot of members of the public are tuning in to see three readings of a Bylaw. They should know that doing three readings of a Bylaw in one day is not uncommon in the City of Grande Prairie.”

Given reminds anyone wishing to speak as a public delegation during the special City Council meeting has a maximum of five minutes to speak.

by Shaun Penner

Grande Prairie City Council gets first look at Temporary Mandatory Mask Bylaw Monday

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