Mask bylaw passed by Medicine Hat city council

Clugston says while he voted against the bylaw, he will now support the law and its implementation in the city.

But he maintained the medical advice being shared about the usefulness of wearing a mask doesn’t represent a consensus from those in the field.

“People keep talking about the science is settled. Well no, the science isn’t settled on this,” said Clugston. “Normally that would be fairly simple for doctors to agree on certain things when it comes to the practice of medicine for the most part. Yet, you have physicians on both sides.”

The meeting featured a group of 40 members of the public in the gallery with all but three wearing masks. Many carried homemade signs against the bylaw.

The well-mannered crowd was roused, however, when Coun. Turner questioned during the debate whether or not masks were helpful in stemming the spread of COVID-19.

“If somebody could show me undisputed proof that masks do stop the spread, than I would probably vote yes on this,” said Turner. “And I have not seen that.”

But at the end of the meeting, the ayes had the majority.

Coun. Dumanowski told council the mask bylaw has raised the passions of Hatters on both sides of the debate.

“But what confuses me and challenges me the most is the apparent unwillingness of some of our citizenry to wear a mask at the risk of jeapordizing and risking the lives of their fellow citizens,” he said. “All in the name of protecting their individual rights.”

He added the Alberta government abdicated it’s responsiblity to deal with the mask issue by not putting in a province-wide mandate for their use, “and doing what’s right.”

Coun. Friesen also criticized the province for not taking the lead on a mask mandate.

And she added the issue has left the city divided.

“Frankly it gravely saddens me to see how divisive this is. It’s so polarizing. It’s created a rift in our community. It really makes me sad,” Friesen told council.

During a gathering outside of city hall involving a couple of dozen individuals against the bylaw prior to the meeting, We Choose Freedom organizer Stephen Campbell stressed his group is not anti-mask but pro-choice in allowing residents to make their own decisions.

He says he is not ruling out future protests by the 800-member group and it will continue to provide support to those who need a voice.

“If someone needs help somewhere, we’re there to help and that’s what my group is about and what we’re doing,” said Campbell. “And it’s a family now.”

Despite the rancour over the mask bylaw issue, the city’s active COVID-19 cases continue to rise, going from eight on Nov. 2 to 113 on Dec. 2 with four residents’ deaths being linked to the virus.

In Bylaw No. 4637, a public place is defined as “all or any part of a building, structure or other enclosed area, whether publicly or privately owned, or portion thereof, to which members of the public have access as of right or by express or implied invitation, whether on payment of any fee or not.”

A public vehicle is defined as a “Transit Bus, Taxi or Transportation Network Automobile or any other vehicle that is used to transport members of the public for a fee, but does not include a Charter Service Vehicle transporting not more than two (2) passengers that belong to the same household.”

Exemptions to the bylaw include children under two years old or under eight who refuses to wear one and can’t be persuaded by a guardian, those unable to put one on or take one off safely and without help, or those unable to wear a face-covering due to a mental or physical condition or limitation, or protected ground under the Alberta Human Rights Act.

There also is an exemption for a person engaged in religious ceremonies, physical activity or arts and culture performances, provided it’s taking place in a setting designed for that purpose.

by Alex McCuaig with files from Chris Brown

Mask bylaw passed by Medicine Hat city council

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