Calgarians may still be required to wear face masks through July, despite Alberta's Stage 3 reopening
While the province prepares for a full reopening on Canada Day, Calgarians may still have to wear masks for at least another month.
As the city heads into a scheduled quarterly review of the mask bylaw Monday, a recommendation before councillors is to maintain the mask bylaw until July 31.
City of Calgary administration says the extension is needed to ensure the province's reopening plan does not spark a new wave of COVID-19 infections.
As councillors debate the bylaw, they are under significant pressure from Premier Jason Kenney to get in line with the province's July first limiting of restrictions
"I would just hope that everyone in the province follows the advice of the chief medical officer proposed," said Kenney when asked about Alberta cities possibly maintaining mask bylaws. "I have got to believe that our municipal leaders will respect to the plan put forward by the chief medical officer, and the public health team."
Mayor Naheed Nenshi says the province’s decision to eliminate its mask regulations codes not force the city’s hand. At a press conference last week, Nenshi said any extension of the mask bylaw past July 1 is in the hands of local authorities.
"We here at the City of Calgary have to make a decision for Calgary based on the very local issues here, based on the outbreaks here, based on the variants here, based on the neighbourhoods here, and so we will make that decision," said Nenshi, before adding that any extension of the bylaw will likely be short-lived.
"Ultimately we're probably talking about a difference of a few weeks at most, so I'm speculating, but I would find it hard to imagine that we would not repeal the face coverings bylaw by the end of July at the latest."
Calgary’s mask bylaw came into effect July 21, 2020. Since then, it has been amended several times raising the fines from $50, to $100 and finally to $500 for contravening the bylaw. It also sparked significant protests from groups claiming the mask bylaw infringed on their personal freedom.
Calgary council is being presented with four choices on how to proceed with the mask bylaw.
The City of Calgary’s original plan, when the bylaw was first introduced, was to repeal it when 75 per cent of eligible Calgarians were fully vaccinated. It now admits that is a threshold that may never be met.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.