Thank you, Coun. Dianne Wyntjes.
The mask debate is ongoing and will be as long as COVID is lurking in our world.
City manager Allan Seabrooke says that no numbers were attached to council’s motion to wait for the provincial government to direct them regarding mandatory mask wearing. A government that clearly said from the beginning that it will be up to the local municipal governments to enact their own mask wearing bylaws.
If 50 cases per 100,000 people puts you on the watch list, then maybe that’s the time to show local decision making.
Seabrooke said “many businesses set their own mask-wearing protocols and are in a better position to do this than the city.”
Talk to the retail workers, sir. They are taking a ton of abuse from some anti-maskers, and yes, they will continue to even under a city bylaw.
However, with a lot of these same people, a city bylaw carries far more weight than a corporate request.
Bars, restaurants and houses of worship have rules in place that they have to abide by, and a city bylaw should not alter that.
Our frontline workers in the grocery, pharmacy, hardware businesses, etc., are not protected under any provincial rules.
Thank you, Coun. Wyntjes for standing up and not waiting for a direction that the province has said they will not give.
Phil Hyde, Red Deer