Council rejects restoring mask rules for city-owned facilities

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Citing concerns about possible abuse against frontline workers, city council voted against restoring mask requirements in city-owned facilities Tuesday.

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Edmonton’s mandatory mask bylaw for public indoor spaces was scrapped earlier this month, shortly after the provincial government moved to Stage 2 of its reopening plan and dropped virtually all remaining measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Alberta’s mask mandate was among the public-health rules that ended at the time, but it’s still mandatory to wear a face covering on public transit across the province.

Council agreed 9-4 Tuesday to restore a local mask by law for bus and LRT riders. The move is intended to close an enforcement loophole — without the bylaw, only police can write tickets for violations of the provincial rules currently in place, leaving peace officers out.

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But council also initially asked city officials to also look into requiring masks for patrons of city facilities like recreation centers and city hall. Coun. Ashley Salvador said she felt strongly about it in the absence of the citywide bylaw or other protections at the provincial level.

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City manager Andre Corbould said he worries about people upset about the return of mask rules who might verbally abuse staff. Currently, only about 30 per cent of the people coming to recreation centers are wearing a mask.

“We do anticipate pushback with our employees, and I can protect them from physical (harm) but I do worry about the emotional impact. We have young people at the front doors,” Corbould said.

“It’s my job to protect them, and we’ll do our best, but there are some things you can’t unhear.”

Corbould added there aren’t adequate resources to staff more peace officers at every city facility to defuse potential problems.

Council ultimately defeated the bylaw that would have included city facilities by a vote of 8-5, with only councilors Salvador, Michael Janz, Jo-Anne Wright, Andrew Knack and Anne Stevenson in favour.

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“I understand we don’t want to be bullied into a decision by aggressive behavior of a small minority,” Major Amarjeet Sohi said.

“If I want to stand up to a bully, I should stand up to a bully. But we shouldn’t expect someone else to stand up to a bully if they’re not properly equipped to do that.”

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New provincial legislation is set to limit municipalities’ power to make their own mask or vaccination rules, but it has yet to be proclaimed.

Coun. Keren Tang said the lifting of mask mandates was “politically motivated,” and not a scientific decision.

But when it comes to confronting people who are angry about COVID rules, “I don’t have to deal with this directly in person. And that is a reality that many staff have to go through.”

Coun. Aaron Paquette said he supports mandatory masking as a powerful tool to stop the spread of COVID-19, and he believes the council will likely be forced to revisit this discussion soon.

But he also couldn’t get behind a new bylaw for city-operated spaces.

“We on council are not facing the brunt of the effects of this decision,” he said.

“I will not vote for the full package … Not because that’s what I want. It’s because it’s what is most practical and prudent, which is a terrible position to be in.”

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