Face Coverings Mandated in Vegreville
Michelle Pinon
News Advertiser
To mask or not to mask, that is no longer the question, because members of Vegreville town council passed a temporary mandatory face coverings bylaw during a special meeting on November 25.
Council voted 3-2 in favour of the bylaw that took effect on November 30. While Councillor Tina Warawa and Councillor Dave Berry voted against the bylaw, they did give their approval to unanimously proceed to third and final reading of the bylaw.
“I will not support the bylaw, but I will also support democracy which will be allowing the step to move forward tonight even if my vote on the other pieces is not there,” stated Coun. Warawa.
One of the other pieces was the question as to what would trigger the bylaw for it to come into effect? The initial draft bylaw stated, “this Bylaw come into effect when the total number of active cases within the Town of Vegreville, as reported by Alberta Health Services, (AHS) result in the Government of Alberta designating the Town of Vegreville as being under a Watch/Enhanced Status designation and shall remain effect until 14 days after the Watch/Enhanced is rescinded.”
There was some discussion on that point at council’s November 23 meeting, and Coun. Warawa said she would prefer a time frame attached to that (bylaw) as opposed to the designation which could vary from week to week.
Community Services Director Phil Rowe told members of council that after having a few conversations with AHS he was told they could not separate the number of cases within the Town of Vegreville and the number of cases in the County of Minburn. “I suggest you follow up with the MLA and Premier because there are other communities who are in the same boat as we are,” stated Mayor Tim MacPhee.
Coun. Dave Berry reiterated some of what he stated on the subject at council’s Nov. 23 meeting. He said it is the responsibility of the province to mandate the wearing of face masks and that it’s not fair to download that responsibility on to municipalities.
Berry said if there was a mandatory mask bylaw province-wide it would solve the issue of people travelling outside the community to access services in other communities which don’t have a mask bylaw. “It would also make it easier for everybody whether it be a business, an individual, or a councillor.”
He went on to say, “The health and welfare of this pandemic is the responsibility of the province, so I will have a very difficult time supporting this.”
Councillor Jerrold Lemko, Councillor Ann Waters, Councillor Taneen Rudyk, and Councillor Marielle Brodziak all spoke in favour of the bylaw.
Coun. Lemko stated, “It’s a trying time for all of us for sure. I fully support the mandatory mask bylaw in the town.” He felt if they did not take action it would become like other cities who are on the Watch/Enhanced list which have greater restrictions.
Coun. Ann Waters stated, “Yes, we are leaders in our community and we do need to take charge and make decisions; these are tough decisions, but we have to make them.” She expressed her concern about people coming into Vegreville from enhanced zones if they didn’t have a mask bylaw and that it wouldn’t be fair to residents. “We need to keep them safe as well.”
Coun. Taneen Rudyk said she hadn’t changed her position on the issue since March. “I think this is the least thing we can do. I think it’s a demonstration about how we care for our community and demonstrate care for others, and for me that is a symbol of how we are going to do it as community leaders as well.”
Coun. Marielle Brodziak stated that she hadn’t changed her position and said she was in favour of the bylaw. “I work in a seniors facility and I am required to wear a mask at all times interacting with the public there. I feel it would be a disservice in my position not to vote accordingly.
Mayor Tim MacPhee explained why he had called the meeting, saying the measures the province introduced the previous day were nowhere what he thought they would be. “I’ve had all kinds of different people in our community reach out to me since then.”
He went on to say, “I’ve had a hard time accepting the fact I’m okay with doing nothing and I understand why I was doing it now. Probably because it was easy. It was easy for me to say that the Premier was the one making the decisions for the Town of Vegreville when in fact he wasn’t making decisions for the Town of Vegreville. We make the decisions for the Town of Vegreville.
I am not here to you that a mask bylaw is going to cure Covid, but what I am here to tell you is that it is a tool in the box to help prevent the spread in our community. This morning I had a conversation with who I consider our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Strydom. He told me that he wished council would move ahead with the bylaw.
He feels, and the other doctors in the community feel they’d see a lot less cases of the common cold and zero cases of influenza in Vegreville and they attribute it to the fact a lot of people are wearing masks. He feels it would be a show of support for front line workers that are wearing masks and working hard every day, and that if we could encourage citizens to do the same.”
He also explained, “Another thing that happened is a person I care a lot about is in her late ‘90’s and has been very good in the facility she lives in, and yesterday they became aware of a case of Covid in their facility. And I started to think about this in our community. The bylaw isn’t going to be 100 percent cure for Covid not getting into our facilities in town, but it’s another tool in the box we have at our disposal.
Every time I listen to Dr. Hinshaw say another 16 deaths today, and after awhile it just seems like a number. You know what, those numbers start to pile up. Well, those numbers are actually families who are going through a lot of pain. I feel that we are naïve, only fooling ourselves if we think it’s not going to happen here, an outbreak.
We are 60 minutes away from one of the worse outbreaks in North America per capita, and I feel that we can no longer wait. It is not fair to the citizens, to the front line workers. And again, I’ll stress that it’s not going to cure Covid, and if it saves one life I feel that it’s worth it.”
The bylaw came into effect Nov. 30 and will remain in place until February 28, 2021. In terms of enforcement, if a Peace Officer believes that a person has contravened any provision of the bylaw, they may issue a violation ticket in accordance with the Provincial Offences Procedure Act. The violation ticket may specify the fine amount established in the bylaw or require a person to appear in court without the alternative of making a voluntary payment.
Failure to wear a face covering where required has a specified penalty of $100 and failure to display prescribed signage has a specified penalty of $200.
In terms of enforcement, if a Peace Officer believes that a person has contravened any provision of the bylaw, they may issue a violation ticket in accordance with the Provincial Offences Procedure Act. The violation ticket may specify the fine amount established in the bylaw or require a person to appear in court without the alternative of making a voluntary payment.
Failure to wear a face covering where required has a specified penalty of $100 and failure to display prescribed signage has a specified penalty of $200.
