A shopper wearing a mask departs the Medicine Hat Mall on Monday. --NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
A special meeting of council has been called for Wednesday to debate a local mask bylaw.
That comes after growing calls on Mayor Ted Clugston to move up the schedule before a Dec. 7 meeting, though he won’t state if he will vote for or against the measure.
On Sunday, a group of local doctors co-signed a letter sent to city council with more than 400 business, health-care and education professionals signing on to the one-day blitz for support on Sunday.
Clugston said he has received 1,000 emails on the subject over the last seven days, all of which are being considered.
“The majority of council wants to deal with this sooner than later, and I respect that,” said Clugston on Monday.
“Most people know that I’ve resisted it. But informally, I’ve been out on the weekend to (stores) and see everybody wearing mask, over 90 per cent compliance.
“It might seem like over reach now that everyone is wearing them voluntarily, but if council desires to implement this, I’ll go along.”
On Nov. 16, council heard an update from emergency management director Merrick Brown which stated that rising cases of COVID-19 in Medicine Hat would bring in new restrictions on business and private gatherings.
At that time council backed a promotional campaign asking Hatters to take mostly voluntary calls from health authorities to wash hands, isolate when possible and wear masks seriously.
At the same time, a majority of councillors said a bylaw for masks could be debated at the first meeting in December.
Last week, after the province imposed rules for masks aligning with local laws in Calgary and Edmonton, but not elsewhere, several councillors began lobbying to move the local debate ahead.
“It’s my hope that we’ll have a bylaw in place on Wednesday night,” said Coun. Jamie McIntosh. “‘Please get a bylaw in place immediately,’ is what I’ve been hearing, and that’s from a lot of people.”
McIntosh, along with Coun. Robert Dumanowski, Julie Friesen and now Phil Turnbull on Monday, have publicly stated they will support a local bylaw.
Others, Coun. Darren Hirsch, Brian Varga, Kris Samraj and Jim Turner did not return messages left by the News.
Each stated on Nov. 16 that they would prefer the voluntary call be heeded. Hirsch said public reaction to voluntary measures would inform his decision. Samraj has questioned the role of municipalities in passing health-related measures, which he sees as a provincial area.
Dumanowski had been gathering support for an earlier meeting and told the News that feedback has come to him has strongly in favour of a mask bylaw and from a “broad cross section” of the community.
The mayor’s move to call the special meeting is “encouraging to say the least,” Dumanowski said Monday. “Council has been challenged to respond.”
Coun. Phil Turnbull told the News he will support the measure, and will push to have an end date included in a final draft. He hopes the community will respond courteously despite a vigorous debate about the need for a bylaw.
“I say that it won’t hurt,” said Turnbull. “I think maybe we (council) were like a lot of other people in town. We were following the rules, and doing pretty well. Our cases were low, but now that’s out of whack.”
Special meeting details
A special meeting of council is run like a regular meeting, but this week’s will start at 5 p.m. on Wednesday in council chambers.
It can be called unilaterally by the mayor, or by special written request of five of eight other council members, to deal with emergent or time-sensitive issues.
Wednesday’s meeting was requested by the mayor without an official request from council, sources say.
Capacity will be limited due to provincial health restrictions, and the unusual time may prevent it being simulcast like other meetings on Shaw-TV. Live video of the meeting will appear on the city’s website.
Council members have previously said a local bylaw would be comprised of measures taken from those passed in 19 other Alberta towns and cities.
The final draft will be before the city’s administrative committee on Wednesday morning for a legal opinion and technical input, said Clugston.
Without expanding, he told the News that major localized items include a sunset clause (expiration date) and, potentially, trigger points in case numbers at which the mandate might be relaxed.
He also stated council discussions have centred on directing any fine revenue to charity.
