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
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
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.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
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.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.