This two-province border town is in a world of its own
But during the pandemic, bigger problems arise than drinking ages
EDMONTON— In the Prairie town of Lloydminster, which straddles the Alberta and Saskatchewan border, the provincial boundary running through the middle of the town is clear cut. The rules surrounding coronavirus? Less so. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, many have been forced to contend with different rules in different regions. But those who live and work in Lloydminster — sometimes crossing the provincial boundary multiple times a day — may have it harder than most.
When effects of the pandemic were first felt here, the town had to deal with social distancing and quarantine instructions from officials in two different provinces. And now, the same is true as Saskatchewan and Alberta unveil plans to reopen their economies. Instructions have sometimes been contradictory and come at different times, leaving Lloydminster locals to figure out which rules apply when.
“It’s challenging, certainly, for myself, and city council and administration, trying to disseminate the information,” Mayor Gerald Aalbers told the Star.
The oil and gas town was settled in 1903. In 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan were formally established and so were their boundaries. Residents of Lloydminster suddenly found themselves with divided loyalties.
The town has a unique charter — provincial legislation adopted by both provinces — which dictates when it follows Alberta’s laws and when it follows Saskatchewan’s.
Residents are no strangers to life under two different sets of rules — RCMP officers on patrol must know two sets of provincial driving laws, the legal drinking age changes depending on where you are, a provincial sales tax isn’t collected on the Saskatchewan side because Alberta doesn’t collect one anywhere, and gas stations try to keep the prices about equal, even if they differ wildly between Edmonton and Saskatoon.
“We live with those differences,” Aalbers told the Star. “At the same time, it is challenging because we have two provincial governments that have the ability to have some influence to our municipality.” Then came the pandemic. Alberta declared a state of public health emergency on March 17 and, a day later, Saskatchewan declared a slightly broader state of emergency. Lloydminster declared a state of local emergency that allowed the town to be in lockstep with Saskatchewan.
And when Saskatchewan announced it would allow some medical services to begin reopening on Monday, Lloydminster began making plans to follow suit.
That dim light was extinguished quickly when Saskatchewan revealed Wednesday that the Lloydminster hospital was dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak.
There are 13 cases — five health-care workers and eight patients — linked to the hospital, which serves about 75,000 people in the region. “When the numbers are as large as they are, it has raised some real concerns in the community,” Aalbers said.
As a result, Saskatchewan announced Lloydminster would not reopen along with the rest of the province as it deals with the new cases.
Alberta has since announced plans to take its first tentative steps toward reopening, also on Monday, when it will allow some medical services to reopen their doors.
But all the announcements about opening dates and rules have left confusion in their wake.
For example, Dr. Nekky Jamal is a dentist who owns Wayside Dental Centre on the Alberta side of town. Though the town of Lloydminster said it would, as a whole, follow Saskatchewan’s lead in reopening, Jamal explained that he has to follow the Albertan regulatory body.
“Lloydminster has always been a challenging community for, I think, provincial governments,” he said. “We want to be responsible, as dentists,” he added. “We play a huge role in health and we want to play a role in public safety as well.”
Restaurant owners in Lloydminster also want to reopen as soon as it’s safe, but there’s uncertainty about which set of rules they should follow.
Svitlana Hotsul, who immigrated from Ukraine, started Eats and Treats by Hotsuls three years ago. While her restaurant is on the Alberta side of town, she believes she has to defer to the Saskatchewan Health Authority since she’s in Lloydminster.
“All food businesses in Lloydminster will go with Saskatchewan reopening,” she said.
Meanwhile, down the road from Hotsul, the owner of a restaurant also on the Alberta side couldn’t say for sure which provincial reopening rules he would have to follow.
“We are under Saskatchewan a little bit and we are under Alberta,” said Spiro Kokonas, owner of Spiro’s Family Restaurant, which serves Greek food.
“It’s very hard to say that we’re 100 per cent Alberta and we are regulated by both.”
The mayor says he’s working to address any gaps in communication.
“There is some confusion,” Aalbers said. “There’s a whole bunch of information being transferred. Is it getting to everybody as well as we’d like? This is a challenge, and so we continuously strive to be better.”
But what unites both halves of Lloydminster is a shared reliance on oil and gas, and the collective concern about the future, as oil prices plummet to a historic low.
For Bill Foster, who has lived in the city since 1961 and owns some real estate there, the problems now facing the town are much more dire than differences in the rules on either side.
“It’s extremely tough right now,” he said. “Extremely tough for Lloydminster, because we’re in the heart of the oilpatch, as well. Of course, the downturn in the economy is very traumatic.”
Foster says he doesn’t see oil making a comeback and that Lloydminster could be fated for the same future, adding that he still thinks the lockdown is needed to keep people safe from COVID-19.
“(Lloydminster is) not going to get wiped off the map, but I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know how these cities are going to function. I mean, good God.”
“Lloydminster has always been a challenging community for, I think, provincial governments.”
DR. NEKKY JAMAL DENTIST WAITING TO REOPEN