Calgary councillor calls urgent committee meeting to discuss mask mandate
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.
The public can tune in to the livestream.
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.