Mayors push for mandatory masks
REGINA The cities of Regina and Saskatoon have asked the provincial government to implement a mandatory mask policy in public spaces as they mull over creating their own bylaws to that effect.
During an announcement in Regina on Thursday, Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said the best way to lower confusion around where and when to wear masks is to have a provincewide policy.
Fougere said he has spoken with both the premier and the minister of government relations, asking for such a policy, and that the City Mayors Caucus has also requested “a uniform policy of mask use.”
“My colleagues around the province at the City Mayors Caucus agree it’s best to have a provincewide application, not a patchwork for different municipalities,” Fougere said.
“We’ve asked the province to make it mandatory around the entire province, yes. And to enforce it; the best way is to make it mandatory and then have enforcement by the province.”
At the moment, Regina city council is encouraging all residents to wear a mask or other face covering in any indoor public spaces and in any public vehicles like buses or taxis. Regina council will discuss the possibility of creating a city bylaw to make masks mandatory in these spaces, although Fougere did not commit to a particular date for these discussions.
Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark said on Thursday he has also asked the provincial government for a mandatory masking policy.
While he said earlier in the pandemic he did not see a need to make masks mandatory, his thoughts on the topic have changed, especially with the growing concern over the return to schools this fall.
“It’s clear that there’s growing anxiety about the fall in our community and people are very concerned about doing everything we can to avoid a second wave of coronavirus,” said Clark.
With schools reopening comes more people riding transit and interacting in public spaces, so Clark said he would like to see a provincial mask policy in place before September. If the province does not do this, Clark said city council will discuss the potential for its own municipal bylaw mandating masks at its meeting on Aug. 24.
At the outset of the pandemic in Saskatchewan, the City of Regina implemented a local state of emergency. The provincial government quickly rescinded that bylaw. At the time, Minister of Government Relations Lori Carr said it was rescinded “in order to minimize confusion among Saskatchewan residents and will ensure that in cases of conflicting information, provincial orders will supersede orders of municipalities.”
Fougere said he has been assured that will not be the case should the city now decide to pass its own mask bylaw.
“They have indicated that they will not oppose a bylaw if we put forward a bylaw,” he said.
In an emailed statement on Thursday, Carr said she has indicated to mayors, SUMA, SARM and New North “that municipalities are within their authority to enact mask policies in municipal owned buildings and transit. I have also noted that the province would review mandatory mask bylaws but those bylaws likely would not conflict with the existing emergency orders.”
Carr said there is a “considerable difference” between municipalities enacting their own masking bylaws and municipalities calling local states of emergency — like the City of Regina attempted to do in March — that differ from the provincial state of emergency.
On Thursday, Regina had the highest number of active cases of all regions in Saskatchewan with 40. There have also been warnings of potential community transfer at several businesses.