EDMONTON -- A business in Slave Lake is under investigation for selling N95 masks for $70 a box, according to the town’s mayor, who called the move “very silly.”
Mayor Tyler Warman said his staff became involved on Thursday after a peace officer with Alberta’s Consumer Investigations Unit (CIU) requested help.
“Our peace officers went and did an investigation, collected some information, took some pictures and then we forwarded that back to (CIU),” Warman said over the phone.
Warman would not name the business involved, and didn’t know how many masks were in each box, but said peace officers did find evidence that the allegations were true.
“It’s very silly of them to do this kind of business in a small town where word gets around quickly. Financially, I think they’ll feel the impact of that,” Warman said.
The N95 is one type of mask commonly used by frontline workers as protection from the COVID-19 virus.
Along with other items like hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and toilet paper, N95 masks have been hard to find on shelves due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On April 11 Premier Jason Kenney sent 750,000 N95 masks to other provinces facing shortages.
A spokesperson for Service Alberta would not confirm the name of the Slave Lake company or even that an investigation was underway.
Tricia Velthuizen said standard practice is to hold that information unless a business receives a penalty.
If only a warning is issued, the public is not notified.
“While a warning and/or education are often employed, companies could face fines of up to $300,000 if the offence is recurring and/or especially egregious,” Velthuizen wrote in an emailed statement.
90 Active Price-Gouging Investigations
The apparent Slave Lake investigation is one of hundreds of complaints lodged by consumers since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Alberta in March.
“(CIU) has received approximately 320 complaints of price gouging on items from toilet paper to baby formula to soup, all of which have been reviewed. To date, approximately 90 were forwarded for further investigation,” Velthuizen wrote.
Warman called the Slave Lake investigation an “isolated incident.”
He added that the vast majority of businesses and residents in the town have been following public health orders and helping each other through a tough time.
“It is very sad to see a business taking advantage of people in a circumstance that we’re going through globally,” Warman said, adding a warning and loss of business is probably enough punishment.
“I don’t expect any other retaliation (from residents), other than they’ll probably look at buying their goods somewhere else,” he said.
Albertans can report price gouging to the Report a Ripoff tip line at 1-877-427-4088 or online at alberta.ca.
