St. Albert defers to province for mask mandates
The end of the provincial mask mandate will trigger the end of the city's rules on face coverings.
On June 8 St. Albert city council voted unanimously to lift the local rules when the province enters Step 3 of the summer reopening plan, although the local rules have been suspended since the end of 2020.
If there is another surge or wave of COVID-19, the city could quickly bring back the mask bylaw.
Coun. Sheena Hughes said with the reopening, the province has been taking a cautious approach and tying the lifting of restrictions with vaccination rates.
“I feel comfortable leaving things in the hands … of the provincial health experts to make decisions about whether or not there should be masks,” Hughes said.
Other councillors said they were at ease knowing if there was a future need for masks and the province wasn't acting, the city would call a council meeting to sort it out.
“I trust that Mayor Heron will call a special council meeting if we're really seeing those regional problems that we saw last summer,” Coun. Natalie Joly said.
Last summer, before the province implemented an Alberta-wide mandate, individual municipalities were left to enact their own bylaws. This left some areas of the province under a mask bylaw, with other communities allowing residents to go unmasked in buildings. As a result, some Albertans travelled to communities to spend time under the rules of their choosing.
“That was the concern last summer when we did this in a regional way was that we'd get the people who don't want to wear masks coming to St. Albert, and we'd get people who are supportive of masking going to Edmonton,” Joly said.
“Should this become a problem for businesses, I really encourage everyone to contact us so we know that it is a problem and can do something about it.”
On Dec. 21, 2020, council suspended the City of St. Albert Face Coverings Bylaw, so only the provincial masking requirements were in effect, after the provincial government implemented mandatory province-wide masking in all indoor public spaces on Dec. 8, 2020.
Council voted for the suspension of the mask rules to prevent any confusion for residents between the local and provincial rules.
Originally the city planned to have the municipal mask rules kick back in when the provincial masking mandate ended, with the bylaw coming before council within 14 days of the provincial mask rules expiring.
But the changes at council completely removed the local rules and now the city will look to the province for masking guidance.
When Stage 3 starts on July 1, almost all restrictions will be lifted.
Other municipalities in the region are considering keeping their own local bylaws, such as Edmonton, that currently has their face-covering bylaw expiring on Dec. 31 2021. The city is considering whether they should lift the mandate early and defer to the province.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.