Thread by @Tommy_Slick

Calgary councillors are set to make a decision about the face coverings bylaw. During discussion this morning, councillors heard from Dr. Raj Bhardwaj and I have some more details here. #yyc #yyccc 660citynews.com/2021/06/19/cal…

Cllr. Farkas starts off this new round with an amendment. He is pushing for the city to repeal the bylaw on Jul. 1, wonders what the city knows that the province and the CMOH doesn't.

There are several options on the table for the bylaw, listed here.

"Let's embrace hope over fear," says Farkas. He adds that people can still wear masks on their own and businesses can set their own policies, even if the city repeals the bylaw.

Cllr. Farrell responds, doubts that the province has the best interests of people in mind. She wants to be more cautious. "I'm worried that it will backfire", and repealing the bylaw will make people feel more unsafe.

"I think it's reckless. I hope I'm wrong," she says of Farkas' suggestion. Farrell wants to base it along vaccination numbers, such as the suggestion that the bylaw remains in place until 75% of the city is fully vaccinated. Dr. Bhardwaj said the risk is we may never hit 75% here

Mayor Naheed Nenshi says they may invite councillors back into the chambers next month, but only half at first and still recommending masks. He would be "very, very pleased" to see everyone back in September.

"How comfortable for us that we have that option," said Farrell. She says people in meatpacking plants and grocery stores don't have that option, and the bylaw provides an extra layer of protection. "I'm gobsmacked," she says of removing the bylaw.

Cllr. Woolley up now, notes the hypocrisy from the province in hoping cities follow their lead in repealing the bylaw on Jul. 1 after they left the decision of mask mandates up to the cities in the first place.

Woolley says business owners are telling him to keep the bylaw in place for a while longer, because they don't want to go back to arguing with customers like when it was first implemented last year.

"This whole thing of it being a basic human right to not wear a mask is ridiculous," says Woolley.

Cllr. Sutherland spots some issues, including confusion for businesses if the bylaw is not repealed. He has talked to business owners and they are concerned people will follow the bylaw much longer if there's no provincial mandate.

Sutherland says anyone can wear a mask, and it is a choice. He says businesses will respect employees who want to wear one. Doesn't think the presentation today was more than opinion, wanted to see some more real science. Wants to match with CMOH recommendation and province.

Cllr. Davison says they don't want to undermine advice of health officials, like Dr. Hinshaw. Says vaccination rates are good right now, and we should continue to respect their advice by abolishing the bylaw on Canada Day.

Davison says this shouldn't be turned into a "left or right issue", and rather it's more like whether or not you trust public health officials. He says he has trusted people like Dr. Hinshaw and will continue to do so.

That said, Davison says he won't just ditch the masks immediately and will still use them in certain situations. Wants people to be tolerant moving forward, respect personal decisions and there shouldn't be shaming of masks.

"Today is a cautious optimism story for our residents," Davison says. Thinks we are ready to remove restrictions, but people also need to stay careful. "Stay safe, be tolerant, and be you," he says in a decidedly campaign-style fashion.

Mayor Nenshi up next, and he's "got a lot to say."

He says he is "super optimistic" and Albertans are crushing it with the vaccinations. But the question is if we can get to the safe point right on Jul. 1.

Nenshi says he has some reasons for holding off on repealing it. First off, the mask protects other people from you. Lots of frontline workers will be caught in the crossfire, especially with Stampede, if people aren't wearing masks.

Nenshi also echoes Woolley on provincial hypocrisy, thinks the Alberta government should trust Calgary to make its own decision on this.

Talking about Delta variant, Calgary has about 50% of all variant cases in the province. Doubling every 10.7 days.

Nenshi says if we were at 50-55% second dose coverage on Canada Day, then get rid of the bylaw. But it doesn't look like we'll get there, as many people only got their first shot in the last few weeks.

Polls show 80% of people are more comfortable in businesses where mask rules are in place. Nenshi says businesses are saying they don't think it's fair to them to come up with store policies without a mandate in place. This was the challenge before the bylaw came into place.

Nenshi says the Stampede will be requiring masks while indoors. People working on the grounds will also largely be young, and they don't want these people trying to argue with people. Makes it much easier for organizers if the local bylaw is still in place.

Cllr. Colley-Urquhart says Nenshi gave an excellent overview of this. She has her own recommendation that would come forward after, depending on the result of Farkas' motion.

Colley-Urquhart says they agreed with the province when they said they can't do a provincial bylaw due to regional difference. Other municipalities followed Calgary's lead after our bylaw came in. She says she is concerned about the many people who still haven't got one shot.

Colley-Urquhart says it is much more possible that we don't need further restrictions if we are cautious for right now and keep the bylaw in place.

While the province has to consider all areas -- including rural -- they only have to consider the city, which still has most cases.

Cllr. Keating says he is disappointed in himself, because he was leaning towards repealing the bylaw on Jul. 1. But he is also concerned about waiting a full month until deciding again, he likes Colley-Urquhart's motion but wants to move the review date earlier.

Cllr. Demong chimes in, says he doesn't want to meddle in medical issues without expertise. The city does not have expert medical advisors, but they do have a fair amount of data. Says the decision is important and should be done by experts.

"C'mon are you kidding me?" Demong says of the suggestion that he, as a councillor, should go over the head of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and other experts.

Cllr. Gondek is up now, echoing some of the other concerns about employees being forced to interact with people without masks and the risk that poses. Wants to keep cases low until school starts back up again. Thinks waiting 30 days isn't much to ask.

"It is our absolute responsibility to look after Calgarians," and waiting thirty days until moving ahead is a good idea, Gondek says.

Cllr. Carra wants to offer a comment here, appeals to colleagues pushing to repeal the bylaw. Says there's significant politics attached to this, and making ideological stands about "science" and "freedom" are useless. We know masks work, it's not a big deal, keep it in place.

"We're just talking about wearing masks, it's not a big deal," Carra says with a sigh of exasperation.

To close, Farkas says there's "significant risks" in keeping the bylaw in place. Thinks that tickets won't be enforced, and there's "no clear and present danger" to justify the bylaw right now.

Farkas thinks that keeping the bylaw in place is a "vote of non-confidence" in public health experts.

Now for the vote on Farkas' motion....

It LOSES on a tie.

Now a vote on Colley-Urquhart's motion, directing administration come back no later than Jul. 26 (that date may be changed) with recommendation on how to move forward.

She says Dr. Hinshaw has not directly said that Calgary should repeal its mask bylaw, and even the premier said they can't do a provincial bylaw due to regional differences. Colley-Urquhart says this is a made in Calgary solution, and they can repeal it later in the summer.

Nenshi notes that if this fails on a 7-7 tie again, then we wouldn't see a review of the bylaw until December. Says nobody wants this, and it would be smart to approve this motion so they can move forward more quickly.

Nenshi says he has been working his butt off on this situation in Calgary, and he fought hard to improve vaccine access in east Calgary where the rates have lagged behind. Still need to address access so people can get their shots first.

Nenshi supports Colley-Urquhart's motion, though they could also push the review up to Jul. 5. Hopes people support this, because otherwise it's in place until December.

Cllr. Demong asks about the motion, and what it's meant by "deemed safe", what's the safe metric to determine how to move forward.

Cllr. Keating says the review date should be on Jul. 5, and the bylaw could be repealed then or they will get another update later in the month.

Keating likens this to a boil water advisory, cities make their own decision due to local reasoning and they don't call up the premier to ask for an advisory.

Right now, we have the highest number of cases in Calgary and it makes sense to make a local decision.

Colley-Urquhart closes on the amendment, supports moving the date up to Jul. 5, and they will keep timelines tight. In response to Demong, she says being deemed safe is based on the criteria in the amendment. She says they'll get hard data.

Oop, Cllr. Farkas wants to talk now. About the "who deems this safe" point raised by Demong. Wants to be clear about expectations, what if there's no true "safe" moment? Is it the council who deems it safe?

Administration answers the question, they're looking at same metrics from earlier reports, but they'll be able to give an update to current situation on Jul. 5.

Farkas says he can't support this, because to him supporting it means that council is trusted with a role of determining health advice.

Nenshi points out that Dr. Hinshaw doesn't make decisions, she makes recommendations and the provincial cabinet makes decisions.

So, everything that Farkas is complaining about is exactly what the provincial government is doing already.

CEMA Chief Henry says they've had discussions about masking in general with Dr. Hinshaw, but none of the nuances specific of Calgary.

Cllr. Wolley asks, if we keep the bylaw in place are we actually going against her?

Chief Henry says, technically, the recommendation is still to wear masks (also note the province will support using masks in some situations).

Woolley says, therefore, they are not going against the CMOH here because they haven't said Calgary must repeal the bylaw.

Keating says the city is very capable of making its own decisions, citing how they managed the 2013 floods in-house. "We don't need the province to say yes or no," he says.

Okay, weird procedural stuff. First vote here on Keating's amendment, about changing the date in Colley-Urquhart's amendment.

It WINS 8-6.

Nowwww, Colley-Urquhart closes the debate on the amendment (now with date changed to Jul. 5 to review bylaw again).

Remember, if this vote fails, then the people wanting the bylaw removed now will have to wait until the winter...

So, on the recommendation:

It PASSES 8-6.

The Calgary mask bylaw will remain in place until at least July 5.