LAC LA BICHE - Lac La Biche County councillors narrowly turned down a decision to create a community-wide mask bylaw on Tuesday — but instead agreed to take a look at a policy mandating face-coverings at only municipally-owned buildings.
Over an hour-long debate, councillors voted 5-4 against creating a new bylaw that would have mandated protective face coverings in all public places across the region, including businesses.
Reasons for and against the mandate linked to the spread of the COVID-19 virus were varied, with some on council saying if a mandate is to be put in place, it should come from provincial officials not municipal ones. Others said enforcement of the bylaw could take peace officers away from other important duties, and other said public members themselves should be left to determine when and where they will wear face coverings
"I really don't think we should be getting involved in this," said councillor Sterling Johnson. "I don't think we should be playing 'Big Brother."
Some on council believed that is exactly what council should be doing.
"We are responsible for our entire county, for all residents ... we have to put these bylaws in place to protect the people," said Deputy Mayor Colin, emphasizing that the significant uptick in local cases of the virus —11 cases to Tuesday's total of 52 in 17 days — shows that simply leaving it up to personal choice hasn't done very well. "We need a bylaw in place. Simply asking people hasn't worked."
Councillor Jason Stedman agreed, following vote, he said that by voting against the bylaw, councillors hadn't done the jobs they were elected to do.
"Voting on this, 5-4 against. This council voted that we want the public to make their decisions," he said, explaining that the bylaw would have helped to strengthen the stance of any local businesses choosing to have their own mask guidelines in place.
Voting against the bylaw, councillor Darlene Beniuk — the only elected member who still attends council meetings without wearing a face covering — said she lives in a free and democratic society where she isn't comfortable being a leader who forces changes in peoples' lives.
"It violates what I stand for," she said, explaining that the issue "isn't rocket science," and that she knows residents are "on both sides of the fence."
Beniuk has undertaken her own collection of data on mask use in the community and believes the decision should rest with the residents. She also feels the local community peace officers should be utilized to some degree to offer "friendly" education to residents instead of targeted enforcement.
"I want to see us putting a positive spin on the situation, not the hammer," she said.
Beniuk and four others voted down the mandated bylaw — local legislation that would have taken at least two weeks to be drafted.
Policy on County buildings
A second decision to introduce municipal policy that would create a temporary mandate for face-coverings in all county buildings did make it to the draft stage.
Seven of the nine council members present voted in favor of municipal administrators creating a draft procedural policy.
Lac La Biche County Ken Van Buul says the municipality currently has an 'in-house' policy that all county staff are to wear face-coverings in all municipal operations, but the mandate does not stretch to the public.
The procedures policy is expected to come back to the council table at their next public meeting on December 8.
