Banff mask rule vote postponed to special Wednesday meeting

Mayor Karen Sorensen said the province’s move to Stage 3 ‘too quickly’ put municipalities in a difficult position

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Banff City Council will meet on Wednesday morning to make a final decision on proposed changes to its current masking bylaw, after unanimous consent to proceed to a third reading of the proposed new bylaw was not obtained on Monday after- midday.

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Mayor Karen Sorensen and Councilors Corrie DiManno, Brian Standish and Grant Canning were in favor of a new by-law, By-law 457, which would see the immediate elimination of exterior masking requirements in the city (upon approval) and interior masking align with provincial standards. withdrawal of the mandate on July 1. Councilors Peter Poole, Chip Olver and Ted Christensen opposed it.

Following a lengthy discussion and over 70 written submissions from community members, businesses and tourism organizations, Mayor Sorensen said one of the biggest challenges to countering the phase 3 plan of the province and extend the mask regulation is the application.

“Effective enforcement of a mask regulation will be impossible when all other restrictions are lifted by the province,” she said. “If we put every RCMP officer we have and every administrative officer we have just on the enforcement of mask regulations, it wouldn’t even come close to being effective. “

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She said the province’s move to Stage 3 “too quickly” had put municipalities in a difficult position.

“Looking at the division in all of these communities (debating mask regulations), I found it incredibly frustrating because, again and frankly, because of the actions of the province, this is now in the towers of the municipalities and this divides communities and divides councils, “she said.

After being one of two municipalities in the province with the highest positivity rates for COVID-19 per 100,000 population in May, the town of Banff reached zero cases earlier this month and, as of 23 June, had only one active case.

The Council will meet, and broadcast live his meetingat 9 a.m. on Wednesday to discuss and vote on the proposed settlement.

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