Edmonton city council rejects mandating masks at recreation centres

Edmontonians using city facilities such as recreation centres will not have to wear masks, but transit users do, city council decided Tuesday. 

Councillors passed a bylaw requiring those taking a bus, LRT or waiting at transit stations to cover their faces, aligning with the current provincial order.

The province still requires people over 12 years old to wear masks on public transit or while attending facilities run by Alberta Health Services and continuing care centres.

The Temporary Transit Facilities Face Mask bylaw allows municipal peace officers to enforce the mandate instead of leaving it up to police or provincial health authorities.

Council voted 9 to 4 in favour of continuing masking on transit, with Sarah Hamilton, Jennifer Rice, Karen Principe and Erin Rutherford voting against. 

During the meeting, city manager Andre Corbould told council fewer people are wearing masks,  about 30 per cent at city recreation centres. 

He anticipated front-line staff getting pushback from people refusing to wear them if the city made them mandatory. 

"I worry about emotional impact," Corbould said. "We have young people at the front doors and I do worry about them taking the brunt of verbal abuse.  We have seen it start to creep in just a bit before the bylaw was repealed."

The majority of council agreed mandating masks at city facilities would be onerous for front-line staff faced with asking people to comply. 

Coun. Aaron Paquette said he believes wearing masks is the right choice but doesn't think front-line workers should bear the brunt of enforcing it.

"I think that mandatory masking is probably the safest way to go because it's an added tool," he said. "I personally have my opinion but I have to go beyond my own personal viewpoint here."

Paquette voted in favour of the mandate on transit only. 

"And that's not because that's what I want, but it's because it's what is most practical and prudent, which is a terrible position to be in," he said. 

Five councillors: Michael Janz, Ashley Salvador, Jo-Anne Wright, Andrew Knack, and Anne Stevenson favoured a mask mandate in public transit and city facilities.