EDMONTON -- The City of Edmonton made face coverings mandatory in indoor spaces three weeks ago, and while most Edmontonians are complying with the bylaw, some have been confrontational.
At least two Edmonton businesses have reported encountering issues with customers not wanting to wear a mask.
Blue Plate Diner owner Rima Devitt says it's happened twice at her restaurant. One customer, Devitt says, became aggressive.
"And he was a regular customer too so it was a little bit surprising and made me a little bit said," she told CTV News.
That same day, a man refused to wear a mask claiming to have a disability, but lacking the city-issued exemption card.
"They didn't seem to me to be unable to put a mask on for 10 seconds," Devitt said.
Customers at Revolution Cycle can't come inside if they're not wearing a mask, even if they have an exemption card. That policy has caused criticism on social media, but they have had issues in person too.
"We had one person who equated wearing a mask to being raped," said Michael MacFynn.
MacFynn says the exemption card policy was "poorly rolled out." The city will be looking into the issue next week.
CTV News reached out to city officials to see how many tickets how been issued so far this month but has not heard back.
However, the city's educational approach appears to be working.
"They have to be good citizens," said Dr. Anne Bissonnette, an associate professor of material culture at the University of Alberta. "They can't drive 200 miles an hour. It endangers others."
The City of Edmonton introduced the mandatory face covering bylaw Aug. 1.
There are 608 active cases of COVID-19 in Edmonton.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Dan Grummett
