By Liam Verster

Mandatory Mask Bylaw

Grande Prairie City Council passes face covering bylaw

Sep 8, 2020 | 8:38 PM

Grande Prairie City Council has passed a temporary mandatory Face Covering (Mask) Bylaw, that will come into effect if a total of 100 cases of COVID-19 were active between both the City and County of Grande Prairie.

The bylaw could also be put into effect if either municipality is changed to an ‘Enhanced Status’ as per the Government of Alberta’s standards.

When activated, the temporary bylaw would require the use of masks or other face coverings in indoor public settings and inside public vehicles such as city busses, unless separated from others by an installed screen, shield or barrier.

The first reading of the bylaw was held during the City Council meeting on August 31, and after several hours of discussion, the final decisions on the bylaw was postponed until Tuesday, September 8. During that meeting, the second and third reading of the bylaw was passed unanimously.

In the first reading of the bylaw, City Council agreed to increase the active case threshold from the proposed 50 active cases between the City and County to 100 active cases, which Mayor Bill Given says was a wise and relatively balanced decision.

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“Recognizing that there are some people in our community who were arguing that we should never have any mask mandates ever, no matter what the case, and we also had members of the community who were saying the City of Grande Prairie should have had a mask mandate a long time ago. Between those two extremes, I think council was able to walk a fine line, and establish what, I hope, the community will recognize as a reasonable, balanced approach.”

During Tuesday’s meeting, several amendments to the bylaw were proposed, most of which had to do with the threshold of active cases that would trigger the bylaw, but only one passed, which changed the sunset clause’s date from January 1 to January 31, 2021.

“It’s possible we go all that time and there’s never a requirement for the use of masks. If that’s the case that would be great news, but it also means this bylaw would automatically expire if Council doesn’t do anything to renew it.”

In the new year, Council will assess the current health advice, and then decide whether to extend the bylaw or let it expire.

There was also lots of discussion surrounding the ‘Enhanced Status’ being an appropriate trigger, and Given says the challenge around the issue was that there doesn’t appear to be a quantitative factor to it.

“It doesn’t appear, on the surface, that the Province has a specific number of cases in mind for triggering the ‘Enhanced Status.’ A lot of the discussion around the council table revolved around the view that the ‘Enhanced Status’ is more likely intended to allow the Province to account for more qualitative measures or subjective factors that would go into their decision making about the need for additional measures in a region.”

Given says Council had a desire for something more grounded and solid, while also recognizing that COVID-19 has a number of different aspects to consider, which the Province would asses before implementing the status.

If the mask bylaw is to be put into effect, it would last for two full weeks after the total active cases drops below the threshold.

However, if during those 14 days, the amount of active cases once again reaches the 100 mark, the bylaw would be reset and remain in effect for another two weeks. During that period of time, there will be a penalty for not following the bylaw, though Given stresses that the City will approach those situations with an “Education First” mentality.

“The reason for that is we believe that the majority of residents are willing to comply with the rules that we have in our society and our community, and that will be no different. They may just need to understand what those rules are and when they apply, and so our Bylaw Enforcement Officers, if called upon to deal with an egregious situations, would likely take an education first approach.”

Given pointed to other municipalities who have followed a similar approach, including Calgary, where only five tickets have been issued since the implementing the mask bylaw.

He says that, if the mask mandate were to come into effect, the vast majority of Grande Prairie residents would take it upon themselves to follow the bylaw, for two different reasons.

“First, because they feel that they can help support other members of their community by helping have an impact on the trajectory of COVID-19. And secondly, because I believe a majority of Grande Prairie residents recognize that living in a society doesn’t just deliver a right to all of us, it also delivers responsibilities to all of us, and those responsibilities mean that sometimes we have to follow rules that we might not choose to impose on ourselves, for the greater good of everyone.”

Given adds that now a decision has been made, Council can re-focus their energy on other projects within the City that need attention.