More than 11 months after voting to implement a mask bylaw, which made masks mandatory for all indoor public spaces and transit vehicles, Calgary city council will take another look at the scientific evidence behind the use of masks at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said data from the province up to Wednesday was “looking very good.”
“The second doses are looking good, the infection rates are down,” Nenshi told Mornings with Sue and Andy on Global News Radio 770 CHQR. “The Delta variant, while still concerning, is slowing down a little bit.”
Councillors will be consulting experts and city officials on Monday to determine whether to change or repeal the city’s mask bylaw that originally came into effect on Aug. 1, 2020. The bylaw is currently set to expire on Dec. 31.
“Council will look at a number of options, (including) what do we do with kids in our day camps and our recreation facilities,” the mayor said.
Currently, only Albertans aged 12 and up are eligible for vaccination. As of June 29, 72.8 per cent of eligible Albertans had received their first dose and 42.4 per cent had their second shot.
The provincial mask mandate for indoor public places ran from Dec. 8, 2020 to July 1, 2021, but masking is still required in transit, taxi and rideshare vehicles, as well as while working in or visiting some health care settings like long-term care facilities.
Edmonton and Lethbridge city councils voted to withdraw their cities’ mask bylaws at the same time the province’s mask mandate was lifted.
Calgary’s council directed city officials to provide an update on the COVID-19 situation in Calgary, which will be presented on Monday.
The city’s mayor said he’s heard a wide range of opinions from city businesses, who previously expressed wanting a bylaw to help keep their employees and customers safe from COVID-19.
“Some are saying, ‘Please keep it in, we want to protect our staff.’ Some are saying, ‘You know, we’re tired of fighting with anti-maskers and we want our staff to not have to fight with them anymore,’” Nenshi said.
With a bylaw in place, the city was able to offer some of those businesses support for masking through bylaw enforcement. Repealing the bylaw removes that support.
Ward 5 Coun. George Chahal, who represents one of the city’s northeast wards that has been hit hardest throughout the pandemic, said despite the inconvenience and discomfort of wearing masks he will not vote to repeal the mask bylaw.
“I look forward to the day we can leave them to personal preference,” Chahal said in a written statement.
“But right now, council should hold the line until we are certain the Delta variant threat is at bay.”
Chahal said he wants the provincial reopening to succeed, but also called keeping the city’s bylaw in place until July 31 “prudent.”
“An additional month of mandatory masking gives us time to drive vaccination numbers up, allows us to celebrate safely and unencumbered outdoors this summer, and serves as a reminder of the ongoing importance of relative precaution,” Chahal said. “It is the smallest price we can pay to help prevent Calgarians from revisiting more restrictive measures in the event of a fourth wave.”
“Appeals to personal responsibility alone have not resulted in reduced case numbers.
“It is political malpractice to shy away from making the hard but correct decision,” the Ward 5 councillor said. “History has shown us that those most vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19 are front-line workers, many of whom call northeast Calgary home.”
Areas of the city east of Deerfoot Trail continue to lag behind the rest of the city in terms of vaccination, with the Calgary east local geographic area at 58.4 per cent with first doses and just 28.9 per cent of eligible Calgarians in the upper northeast getting a second dose.
Ward 6 Coun. Jeff Davison said Friday that he’d vote to repeal the bylaw.
“I will advocate that we follow Dr. Hinshaw’s guidance and lift the mandate now that our health experts have said it’s safe to do so,” Davison tweeted. “Of course, people can continue to wear a mask if they feel more comfortable, and I fully support that choice.”
Ward 1 Coun. Ward Sutherland agreed with Davison and wants to follow the direction of the province’s chief medical officer of health and leave the option to wear masks a personal choice.
“I think that’s going to be the new normal: some people wear masks, some won’t depending on whether they’ve been double vaccinated or not and if they feel comfortable or not,” Sutherland said.
“It should be up to the individual.”
Ward 2 Coun. Joe Magliocca, who has voted against the mask bylaw since it was introduced last year, also agreed the bylaw should be repealed on Monday.
“We cannot be the only city in Alberta to have a mask mandate,” Magliocca said. “I will definitely be opposing it again.”
While the mayor didn’t hint about how he would vote on Monday, he did point to public advice made by the chief medical officers in Alberta and B.C.
“Dr. (Bonnie) Henry in B.C. and Dr. (Deena) Hinshaw have both said that indoor masking is probably something you want to keep doing — is a personal choice anyway — which tells you a lot about what their advice to the province actually has been versus what the province chose to take,” Nenshi said Friday morning.
“So we just try to listen to the best experts from around the world and make our decisions based on that.”
– With files from Adam MacVicar