Morinville has put the wheels in motion on a mandatory mask bylaw meant to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
After extensive debate, Morinville council voted 6-1 (Coun. Rebecca Balanko opposed) on Aug. 25 to draft a mandatory face mask bylaw. Said bylaw is to include a trigger point (such as a certain number of COVID-19 cases) that the town would have to meet before it would take effect.
Council also voted unanimously to develop a public education campaign to promote proper mask use and to lobby the province via letter and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association to issue clear guidance on mandatory mask bylaws.
The moves came five days after Sturgeon County made masks mandatory in all indoor publicly accessible places, including county buildings in Morinville, to limit the spread of COVID-19.
No need yet, say leaders
The province’s reopening plan classifies the COVID-19 risk in a community as open (low; all province-wide COVID-19 measures apply), watch (medium; province speaks with local leaders on additional measures), or enhanced (high; province imposes additional measures). The province moves regions from open to watch status when they have at least 10 active cases and more than 50 per 100,000 people. There is no specific case threshold for enhanced status.
As of Aug. 25, Edmonton, Clear Hills County, Mackenzie County, the County of Northern Lights and Sturgeon County were the only communities in Alberta under watch status. No region was under enhanced status.
Council heard Morinville is one of just four communities in the Edmonton region that does not have a mask bylaw on the books or in development. Beaumont, Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, The City of Leduc, St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Strathcona County and Sturgeon County all had mask bylaws and required masks or face-coverings to be used in some or all public spaces as of Aug. 25. Stony Plain is to debate a mask bylaw on Aug. 31.
Morinville chief administrative officer Stephane Labonne told council that the town is still under open status in terms of COVID-19, having just five active cases or 44.1 per 100,000 as of Aug. 25. The town does not have a transit service (something other regions with more cases do), and would be challenged to enforce a mask bylaw.
“We don’t see a need at this point in time today for a mask bylaw,” Labonne said.
But that could change rapidly, he noted. Morinville is surrounded by Sturgeon County, which was under watch status, and has the Morinville Leisure Centre, which is covered by the county’s mask bylaw.
Coun. Stephen Dafoe said most town residents appear to be wearing masks and staying two metres apart, and that several local retailers such as No Frills would soon require mask use.
“I think our residents are doing a good job. I don’t think we need a bylaw at this point.”
Balanko and Coun. Lawrence Giffin questioned the effectiveness of masks, saying they often aren’t worn properly and might provide a false sense of security.
While she agreed with Dafoe that it should up to the province, not municipalities, to introduce health measures such as mandatory masks, Coun. Nicole Boutestein said Morinville should be proactive and have a mask law ready to use if necessary. This pandemic has been “really crappy” for her and her family, but it could get worse when school starts this fall, as her husband is a teacher.
“I’m fearful every day of what he could come home with when he goes to school,” Boutestein said.
A bylaw on the books would be an important “arrow in the quiver” for Morinville in the fight against the pandemic, Mayor Barry Turner said. A mask law might be tough to enforce, but having one in place would encourage more people to wear masks.
Coun. Sarah Hall said council needed to set a clear message when it came to mask use. The province expected children to wear masks in schools, and adults should set an example for them by wearing them as well.
Council would review the draft mask bylaw at the Sept. 15 committee of the whole meeting.
Back in person
Councillors held this debate at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre as part of their first in-person meeting since March 17, which was when council switched to online meetings to allow for physical distancing during the pandemic.
Turner told the Gazette that council moved its meetings to the cultural centre because there wasn’t enough space in the regular council chambers to allow for physical distancing. The cultural centre has enough room for everyone in attendance to be roughly 2.5 metres apart.
“It’s nice to vote without typing,” Turner said in council, in reference to the last several months of online meetings.
Sturgeon County and St. Albert have taken a different approach to in-person meetings during the pandemic. Sturgeon is having some councillors attend in person with the rest calling in. St. Albert is taking a similar strategy, but has also deployed plastic shields between each councillor.
