Abuse and pushback to COVID-19 rules happening at rec centres in Sherwood Park

Recreation centres are typically a place you go to relax or relieve tension.

But in Sherwood Park lately, some people are taking out their stress at the door.

Dale Kendall, superintendent of Strathcona County RCMP, said officers have been called a few times to help staff deal with abuse related to COVID-19 rules at several facilities, ranging from problems with showing proof of vaccination to refusing to wear a mask.

“People are on edge, and the rules are constantly changing, and people are frustrated with that,” Kendall said.

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“By the time we actually attend the site, those folks that were agitated or being verbally assaultive have left the premises.”

Strathcona County Mayor Rod Frank said there have been incidents of staff being yelled at over the phone, people not complying in rec centres and others showing up to recreation events without proper documentation.

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Despite the confrontations, Frank is empathetic to the learning curve of ever-changing COVID-19 rules.

“We’ve got to give people some time to understand it, and you have to be patient with each other,” Frank said.

“I think the provincial government would do well to communicate more clearly and more often and if the health and medical advice was more clear to the public.”

In Alberta, a total of 1,347 COVID-19 complaints have been directed to Alberta Health Services between Sept. 20 and 27, since the restrictions exemption program began. Most have been in Calgary with 532 complaints while 464 of them were in the Edmonton zone.

But law enforcement is taking the education route. The Edmonton Police Service did not hand out any tickets in the first week.

RCMP are also using different ways to diffuse situations.

Insp. Nito Disciglio, manager of Strathcona County Enforcement Services, said it’s not always about writing tickets; it’s about finding ways to keep the community safe.

“Sometimes a ticket would inflame a certain situation, and we certainly don’t want to do that. It’s a tool, but it’s one of the tools that we have,” Disciglio said.

Security teams have been hired at recreation centres like Millenium Place in Sherwood Park so the extra protocols to let people in don’t fall just on staff to enforce.