EMERGENCY

Mayor irked as province rescinds city declaration

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said although he knew it could happen, he’s disappointed the province has decided to rescind the local emergency declaration made by city council last week.

“I respect their opinion and I respectfully ask them to add in or incorporate what we had in ours and maybe more,” said Fougere during a Monday morning news conference. “This is all about getting ahead of the curve.”

The declaration made by council included a number of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but differed from the provincial measures in two significant ways: instead of the 25-person cap on public gatherings, the city set the cap at five and also ordered the closure of certain retail stores.

Fougere said he spoke with Premier Scott Moe and Government Relations Minister Lori Carr before the declaration was made. Both made it clear they preferred the city not proceed, he said, but council felt strongly that a statement needed to be made about the importance of more restrictive measures. He had hoped the province would not rescind their declaration, but bring their own measures in line with those of the city.

The mayor pointed to similar restrictions being put in place across the country, including Nova Scotia, which recently announced a five-person cap on public gatherings.

“The province has said they will be tightening up their regulations and we urge them to do it sooner rather than later to protect residents,” said Fougere, adding more of a lockdown is needed before things get worse, not after.

Any municipal order found to contradict provincial instructions would be subject to an order-in-council rescinding it, said Carr in a conference call with media Sunday. She stressed that provincial measures overrule municipal orders that retail outlets such as clothing stores can remain open provided they practise appropriate social-distancing procedures. She said conversations over the weekend with Fougere as well as the town of Gravelbourg, the only other municipality to issue directives so far, have been cordial.

“This will be done in order to minimize confusion among Saskatchewan residents and will ensure that in cases of conflicting information, provincial orders will supersede orders of municipalities,” Carr said.

In a Monday afternoon news conference, Premier Scott Moe said he will be speaking with the other premiers and the prime minister about possibly aligning measures across the country to make it clear to all Canadians what’s expected of them.

“To have a patchwork among five, 10, 20, 30 municipalities rural and urban in the province of Saskatchewan doesn’t advance that interest,” he said.

Mayor and council aren’t the only ones looking for more restrictive measures. Many people expressed support for the additional measures in comments on the Leader-post Facebook page and some criticized the provincial government for overruling the city’s measures. An online petition was also started by Ward 6 Coun. Joel Murray to keep the local emergency declaration.

“This is an urban issue and the COVID-19 virus will continue to grow in cities without aggressive action being taken,” said the petition, which had more than 1,100 signatures as of Monday afternoon.

Fougere said the petition is a reflection of people’s anxiety and a desire to see more done to combat the spread of COVID -19. He’s urging the province to embrace speed over perfection.

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili said he understands the need for consistency, but also understands Regina city council trying to be more assertive with measures out of concern for residents.

“We want the province to actually show leadership. If they’re stepping up. If they’re showing the best role modelling at the provincial level, then the cities won’t feel they need to step up differently,” said Meili Monday.