(Supplied by Town of Claresholm)

By David Opinko

Claresholm council votes down proposed face mask bylaw

Nov 3, 2020 | 11:47 AM

CLARESHOLM, AB – Residents of Claresholm will not be required to wear face coverings in public.

A special meeting of town council was held on Monday, November 2 to discuss Bylaw #1712.

It would have mandated the use of face masks in indoor, enclosed, or substantially enclosed public places or in public vehicles with a fine of $100 for those in violation.

In the end, Mayor Doug MacPherson says council voted 5-2 against first reading of the proposed bylaw.

“One of the bigger reasons, I guess, that we voted it down was enforcement. At this time, we have no bylaw department. We’re in between bylaw officers and we thought we had no way to enforce this.”

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After extensive talks with residents and business owners, council discovered that the reaction to a bylaw of this nature was mixed.

“I would say that people who responded were 50-50 in favour and against. Basically, what it came down to was a lot of people felt that they should have a choice whether to wear one or not.”

During the nearly-hour long discussion in council, MacPherson said he was in favour of approving the bylaw as it would likely result in more people using face masks.

The Town of Claresholm has already been communicating messages to the public about recommended public health guidelines such as wearing face masks and physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are going to double down this week through social media and through a news release that, although we did not support the bylaw, we fully support the wearing masks and we encourage everyone to participate in that because it will make a difference,” explained MacPherson.

As of the last provincial COVID update this past Friday, 40 people in Claresholm (Central Willow Creek Md) had contracted the virus. Of those, 21 cases were active while 19 people had recovered.