The city of Edmonton is extending their mask bylaw by an entire year..City council voted 12-1 Friday to keep the bylaw in place for another year after it was set to expire at the end of 2020..Bureaucrats had recommended an extension until next June, but council decided to amend the end date to Dec. 31, 2021..Coun. Mike Nickel was the sole vote in opposition..“The fact that we were even having the debate as if we might not renew it actually scared a lot of people,” said Mayor Don Iveson..“We don’t want to start that anxiety up again in a few months’ time, we’d rather have a celebratory discussion about repealing it rather than fear-fuelled divisive debate again in a few months about extension of it.”.The province reported a new daily record with 1,155 cases on Friday, 499 in the Edmonton Zone. There are currently 4,520 active cases in the region..Iveson said he hopes by spring, council can revisit the issue.. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .“It will be the same indicators that will inform the removal of all of those other measures, which again we hope will be in the first part of next year and when that comes we’ll be able to pass three readings of a bylaw to repeal the mask bylaw in due course,” he said..“This will be a point of great celebration and I look forward to it and I just hope it’s sooner rather than later like everybody else.”.Mask scofflaws face a $100 fine..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
The city of Edmonton is extending their mask bylaw by an entire year..City council voted 12-1 Friday to keep the bylaw in place for another year after it was set to expire at the end of 2020..Bureaucrats had recommended an extension until next June, but council decided to amend the end date to Dec. 31, 2021..Coun. Mike Nickel was the sole vote in opposition..“The fact that we were even having the debate as if we might not renew it actually scared a lot of people,” said Mayor Don Iveson..“We don’t want to start that anxiety up again in a few months’ time, we’d rather have a celebratory discussion about repealing it rather than fear-fuelled divisive debate again in a few months about extension of it.”.The province reported a new daily record with 1,155 cases on Friday, 499 in the Edmonton Zone. There are currently 4,520 active cases in the region..Iveson said he hopes by spring, council can revisit the issue.. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .“It will be the same indicators that will inform the removal of all of those other measures, which again we hope will be in the first part of next year and when that comes we’ll be able to pass three readings of a bylaw to repeal the mask bylaw in due course,” he said..“This will be a point of great celebration and I look forward to it and I just hope it’s sooner rather than later like everybody else.”.Mask scofflaws face a $100 fine..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
