Calgary councillor calls urgent committee meeting to discuss mask mandate
Calgary councillor calls urgent committee meeting to discuss mask mandate
CALGARY -
A Calgary city councillor has called an urgent meeting on Friday for a city committee to discuss what options need to be considered for the safety of Calgarians during the fourth wave of the pandemic, including bringing back the mandatory mask mandate.
Ward 9 councillor, Gian-Carlo Carra, who is the chair of the emergency management committee has scheduled the meeting for Sept. 3 at 1 p.m.
In a tweet, Carra said the committee advises council on the development of emergency plans and programs.
As Chair of the Emergency Management Committee, I have called a meeting to discuss how we can best serve Calgarians through the evolving challenges of COVID & the #DeltaVariant
Carra told CTV if the committee decides to recommend bringing back a mask mandate, it has 24 hours to call a special meeting of council.
The announcement of the meeting comes a day after the city of Edmonton re-introduced a mandatory mask mandate which takes effect on Friday.
“A lot of folks are pleased that Edmonton moved this quickly and we do need to move quickly,” said Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi.
Nenshi said projects of case numbers are troubling.
“We’re at about 1,000 cases a day now," he said. "It would be quite likely that two weeks from now that’ll be doubled, 2,000 cases or more a day and so the time to move is now.”
Nenshi can call a special council meeting at his discretion but he must receive written request from a majority of councillors.
Tuesday, Nenshi did not say whether or not he would call a meeting. He said the city has been in limbo.
“It’s very clear that the province has been pretty derelict in its duties," said Nenshi. "I’m not sure they’re going to do anything,”
“The challenge with the mask bylaw is that in and of itself without a robust testing, tracing and isolating system it’s not as effective as it could be," he added. "Ultimately part of this relies on us waiting on the province and part of it is really thinking hard about what the city can do on its own.”
Nenshi said masks on public transit and city facilities will continue with no end date set.
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Saskatoon police say a woman who had been reported missing is facing charges in the United States related to unauthorized use of identification and in Canada related to parental abduction and public mischief.
A suspect already in handcuffs has allegedly managed to overpower a Toronto police officer and steal their SUV, sending police on a wild early morning chase.
Authorities in the Northwest Territories are monitoring a large 'zombie fire' that flared back up following last wildfire season after smouldering underground during the winter months.
A housing correction which has already led to four consecutive months of price declines in the previously overheated Greater Toronto Area market could end up becoming 'one of the deepest of the past half a century,' a new report from RBC warns.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is defending the RCMP’s yearslong and undisclosed use of spyware capable of accessing cell phone and computer microphones, cameras and other data as part of dozens of major investigations. Testifying before a parliamentary committee on Monday, Mendicino said the national police force's use of these tools has only be permitted in 'the most serious offences.'
A mom in Chilliwack, B.C., says she was terrified after her children were exposed to an unknown irritant at a local playground that caused their skin and eyes to burn.
A conspiracy theory about 'new world order' is not a valid argument in a recent foreclosure case involving a home in Vancouver, a judge in British Columbia ruled.
The deputy mayor of a southern Newfoundland town says his community is running out of food as it remains cut off from the rest of the island due to the worst forest fires the province has seen in more than 60 years.
Halifax has cancelled 75 bus trips due to a lack of transit staff, and the union representing the drivers says staffing levels will likely get worse before they get better.
A weather front sprawling out of Ontario and Quebec is leading a low pressure system across the Maritimes Monday through Tuesday. Rain, drizzle and fog are expected in the region with some areas experiencing heavy rain for a period of time.
Mounties say nearly two dozen impaired drivers were taken off the road over the B.C. Day long weekend in the Lake Cowichan area, and a half-dozen more drivers were ticketed for excessive speeding.
The District of Saanich is removing car lanes and replacing them with protected bike lanes along a stretch of Tillicum Road near the border with Esquimalt, B.C.
Ontario's health minister says six emergency departments had to close in the province over the weekend, but she argues that the situation isn't unprecedented.
A housing correction which has already led to four consecutive months of price declines in the previously overheated Greater Toronto Area market could end up becoming 'one of the deepest of the past half a century,' a new report from RBC warns.
Quebec's chief coroner has ordered a public inquiry into the death of 26-year-old Abdulla Shaikh, who is suspected of killing the three men at random last week.
The organization that runs the Montreal Pride Festival says it is conducting an internal investigation after it abruptly cancelled the city's official Pride parade on Sunday -- hours before it was to begin.
Montreal police are investigating the suspicious death of a man discovered in a bin during recycling collection in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Monday morning.
Ontario Provincial Police are looking for help as they investigate an incident in Petawawa that saw several cans of paint spilled onto an intersection.
Ottawa's Confederation Line LRT will be closing early on a total of 10 days this month as crews perform maintenance on the tracks, with reduced service planned on parts of the line for two other nights.
Brantford Police have issued an arrest warrant for a man and are asking the public for help identifying a second man following a police chase which resulted in multiple collisions and the two suspects evading arrest.
A Manitoba woman who abused and killed her daughter in one of the province's most notorious crimes has been granted escorted temporary absences from prison.
