LETHBRIDGE, AB – It looks like Lethbridge’s temporary mask-wearing bylaw will remain in place for a while longer.
Councillors were poised to vote Tuesday on whether or not to repeal the local face-covering bylaw 24 hours after the province enters stage three of its summer reopening plan.
The final phase would lift all pandemic restrictions including Alberta’s province-wide mask mandate.
Council though needs to have a repeal bylaw in place in order to scrap the mask bylaw. In a 5-4 vote Tuesday afternoon, Councillors voted against an amended proposed resolution that would’ve had a repeal bylaw presented at the next Council meeting after Alberta confirms the date the province will officially go into stage three.
This effectively means the city’s mask-wearing bylaw isn’t going anywhere, at least not yet. A new bylaw though could come back to Councillors on June 29th and they could try and deal with this issue yet again.
Mayor Chris Speamman, along with Councillors Rob Miyashiro, Belinda Crowson, Jeffrey Coffman, and Jeff Carlson voted against the amended proposed resolution.
Councillor Blaine Hyggen brought the resolution forward, saying Council should be listening to the experts when it comes to lifting restrictions, referring to Alberta’s Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
As it sits right now, the city’s face-covering bylaw won’t expire until December 31st.
