The long weekend has arrived and Calgary’s mandatory mask bylaw is set to take effect on Aug. 1.
Refusing to wear a mask could see people get fined.
Businesses will be mandated to post sufficient signage provided by the city and failing to do so properly could also result in a fine.
Duty Inspector with Calgary Community Standards, Brad Johnson, said Friday that the focus will be to educate Calgarians about the effectiveness of wearing a mask.
“It’s important to understand that not everyone will be capable of wearing a mask,” Johnson explained. “So there’s a lot of sensitivity around this that we have to be aware of in the city.”
Transit and Peace Officers will also be carrying additional masks for people who don’t have them.
But transit drivers are voicing confusion and concern around the regulations and who would be responsible for distributing masks and denying service to riders who aren’t wearing them.
“We want to have as little interaction with the public as possible,” said Mike Mahar, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 583.
Mahar said the union has clarified with the City of Calgary that transit drivers will not be distributing masks and will not be enforcing the bylaw.
The City of Calgary said Friday that 500,000 free masks will be available at recreation centres in the city and at some transit stations in the morning hours in order to make them as accessible as possible to all Calgarians.
— With files from Global News’ Jenna Freeman