Lethbridge City Hall. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

City to re-debate rescinding mask bylaw, could be lifted same time as provincial one

Jun 24, 2021 | 1:33 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – It is at least a possibility that the City of Lethbridge’s face mask bylaw and the provincial mask mandate could be lifted at the same time.

Earlier this month, the Government of Alberta announced that nearly all COVID-19 restrictions, including the provincial face mask order, will be lifted on July 1 as part of the third and final stage of the Open for Summer Plan.

READ MORE: Nearly all COVID restrictions in Alberta to be lifted July 1

Just a couple of days before that announcement was made, however, Lethbridge City Council voted a motion down that stated the city would introduce a new bylaw to get rid of the Temporary Mandatory Face Covering Bylaw (Bylaw 6239) within 24 hours of the province declaring that Stage 3 would be commencing.

As it currently stands, Bylaw 6239 is set to remain in effect until December 31, 2021.

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READ MORE: Lethbridge’s mask bylaw extended to December 31

There is still one more chance that the local and provincial rules could both be repealed on July 1.

LNN spoke to Councillor Rob Miyashiro about what it would take for this to happen.

He explained that city council cannot simply vote to repeal a bylaw. Legally, they would have to introduce a new bylaw that would repeal an existing one and have it pass all three readings.

“Council can pass any bylaw with more than two readings at one sitting with unanimous consent of council… depending on what comes forward, depending on how it’s worded. There’s a good reason for that, so council can’t just flippantly change their own laws as they see fit.”

At the Tuesday, June 29 meeting of city council, Councillor Ryan Parker will introduce a bylaw to repeal Bylaw 6239.

The motion states that “Maintaining the current Mask Bylaw beyond just July 1, 2021, will cause confusion and mixed messaging and create greater division with the community.”

So while it is certainly possible that masks will no longer be required on July 1 by both the municipal and provincial bodies, it is still not a guarantee.

If it does not garner unanimous support but still goes past the first reading, then it will likely go forward to the following regular council meeting on July 13.

The June 29 council meeting starts at 1:30 pm and will be live-streamed on the City of Lethbridge’s YouTube page.