No need to make masks mandatory, mayor says

A growing number of large Canadian cities are making masks mandatory in enclosed public spaces, but Saskatoon’s mayor says he has no plans to follow suit.

Pointing to the low number of cases reported in the city, as well as the fact there have been no outbreaks, Charlie Clark said he aims to continue following the advice of provincial health officials.

“At this point, based on provincial guidances and based on our case numbers, going from where

we are to a mandatory measure I think would be more problematic,” Clark said.

“As we have a low case count in our community, I’d rather build up that comfort level and getting people used to wearing masks over the course of the summer than move really rapidly.”

Current measures have been “quite successful” so far, he said. As of Wednesday, a total of 191 cases have been reported in the Saskatoon region — the province walked back its pledge to provide more specific data — of which five are active. Clark said he is “not a good judge” of whether enough Saskatoon residents are complying with provincial authorities’ recommendation that people wear masks where physical distancing is not possible.

At the same time, he said the science indicating masks reduce transmission of the new coronavirus is clear, and the aim is to create an environment where more people are comfortable wearing face coverings.

The mayor also acknowledged that a bylaw mandating indoor mask use could politicize the issue, as has happened in other parts of Canada and cities around the world. He said it is a health issue, not a political one.

That echoes what the mayor’s office has been telling residents.

A message to a constituent from a staffer in the mayor’s office describes the “need to reinforce some safety messaging” and says, “We’ve been doing quite well as a community but we can’t be letting our guard down.”

Several major Canadian cities already have gone further than federal public health authorities and enacted bylaws that make mask use mandatory in indoor public spaces.

Toronto’s bylaw — which came into effect Tuesday — requires anyone in indoor public areas such as shops, churches, entertainment venues and transit vehicles, though not schools, apartment buildings or hospitals, to wear a mask.

Ottawa’s bylaw also came into effect earlier this week. Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said her city intends to pass a similar bylaw by July 27.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has warned that Alberta’s largest city could follow suit within two weeks if more Calgarians don’t take it upon themselves to wear face coverings in public spaces.

“Our level of mask-wearing in Calgary, in stores and public transit, in particular, is way too low,” Nenshi said.

“I’ve been pushing, saying, ‘You gotta do it, you gotta do it.’ People aren’t doing it. So if Calgarians are not willing to do it on their own in order to make sure we get to Stage 3 (of Alberta’s reopening strategy), we prevent a second wave, we open the economy more, then certainly we’ll look at all our options.”

While at least one provincial government — Quebec’s — is mulling mandatory mask use, Saskatchewan government officials have steered clear of calling for face coverings to be required.

After declining to explicitly recommend homemade masks early in the pandemic, Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, subsequently changed course and encouraged people to wear them.

Premier Scott Moe went further, suggesting that mandatory mask use might be worth discussing during localized outbreaks as an interim step before ordering businesses and other facilities to close.

“We don’t want to get there. So there may be an opportunity in those localized areas to have a temporary mandatory mask order put in place,” Moe said.