(Dreamstime)

By David Opinko

Petition to remove Taber’s mask bylaw legally “not sufficient”

Apr 15, 2021 | 10:15 AM

TABER, AB – Residents of Taber will continue to be required to wear face masks in public for the time being.

A petition signed by 528 people asked the town to rescind its Temporary Mandatory Mask Bylaw. In the end, however, Interim CAO Gary Scherer found the petition to be “not sufficient” under the regulations of the Municipal Government Act (MGA).

Mayor Andrew Prokop explained to LNN that, in order for a petition to be sufficient and actions to be formally be considered by council, it must meet all of the statutory requirements under the MGA.

He assures the public that it was not necessarily a matter of council disagreeing with what the petition was asking for.

Rather, the petition failed to meet those requirements in several areas, the most notable of which was the timing.

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Petitions opposed to municipal bylaws must be submitted to the town within 60 days after the bylaw was passed. Since the mask mandate was approved in late November, that put this date at January 29, 2021. The petition was not filed with the municipality until March 2.

READ MORE: Face mask bylaw approved in Taber

Another requirement is that at least 10 per cent of the population must sign it. Given Taber’s population of 8,428 in 2019, that means it would need at least 843 signatures. The petition garnered just 528.

Prokop notes that it failed to meet other requirements such as all signatures being witnessed and addresses being provided for every person signing it to ensure all signatures are legitimate and signators live within the boundaries of the municipality.

At the same time, the mayor says residents sent council a clear message.

“All of that aside, like, we’re certainly taking it into consideration. You know, it’s 500 people in Taber and area, so we’re certainly taking note of their concerns. Just because that petition didn’t meet the complete legal requirements, doesn’t mean we’re not looking into it as a serious matter.”

Taking action on the mask matter might prove to be more complicated than one might expect.

Even if town council were to rescind the local bylaw, the provincial order would still remain in effect, meaning nothing would change.

Given that this petition did not meet the requirements to go ahead, Prokop urges anyone looking to start future petitions to read through the MGA sections 219-226 before canvassing the community.

For any further advice or clarification, he says residents can phone the town to ensure they are doing everything properly.