Defying province, Saskatoon city council takes step towards gathering limit bylaw
Saskatoon City Council has instructed the city solicitor’s office to develop a gathering restrictions bylaw to fight COVID-19.
“I absolutely do not want to have to be in this situation right now,” Mayor Charlie Clark said.
“It's an extraordinary situation, where our city council is having health officers coming forth and laying out how urgent the situation is, identifying a mechanism that has been identified through all of their modeling and planning, which is restricting private gatherings which can help mitigate the very, very urgent situation that we're seeing in our healthcare system.”
He said a city bylaw is “worth trying” even though it’s an “imperfect solution.”
The bylaw would still need council approval.
Earlier this month, the province rejected the city’s request for local gathering restrictions, prompting the Governance and Priorities Committee to investigate the city’s authority to go it alone.
In her report to council on Monday, solicitor Cindy Yelland recommended any COVID-19 bylaw drafted by the City of Saskatoon should focus on private gatherings in private residences, private events at public venues and places of worship.
However, she said that while the city has wide bylaw-making powers, the province is the level of government responsible for public health - not the city.
In her report, Yelland cited modelling provided to the city that shows “limitations on gathering size are arguably the single most important and actionable lever for lowering the spread of COVID-19 in our province.
“The scientific modelling from the (University of Saskatchewan Computational Epidemiology and Public Health Informatics Laboratory) and the local Medical Health Officer agree that if Saskatoon gathering restrictions had been implemented at the beginning of October or earlier, when Saskatoon was trending upwards, there would have been a more meaningful impact on lowering the transmission of COVID-19 in Saskatoon, but implementation still has value as it will drive down transmission faster in the community.”
Councillors Randy Donauer, Darren Hill and Troy Davies opposed the motion to draft the bylaw, with Donauer saying such guidelines are the province’s responsibility and the city has no authority.
Early in the pandemic, the City of Regina uncsuccesfully tried to introduce municipal public health measures.
At the meeting, Saskatoon’s medical health officer, Dr. Jasmine Hasselback, recommended measures similar to Step One in the province’s reopening strategy.
Her recommendations would be in effect for 28 days and would include:
PRIVATE GATHERINGS
- The unvaccinated and partially vaccinated should not gather beyond their own household
- Vaccinated households can gather indoors with up to one other household, including children under 12 who are not yet eligible for vaccination.
VENUES
- Venues for events such as weddings and funerals should reduce to 25 per cent capacity, with no indoor dining if they are only requiring mandatory masks, but not proof of vaccination. If they require proof of vaccination, those restrictions would not apply.
PLACES OF WORSHIP
- Places that don’t require proof of vaccination should still require mask wearing and reduce in-person attendance to 25 per cent capacity of 150 people, whichever is less.
- She said she had also made the recommendations in a written submission to the Minister of Health on Friday.
In a statement to CTV News, Ministry of Health spokesperson Jennifer Graham said the City of Saskatoon can create policies that extend to public facilities within their jurisdiction.
"Any bylaw created by a municipality with respect to matters affecting public health need to be reviewed and approved by the Minister of Health pursuant to The Public Health Act, 1994. The Public Health Orders are based on recommendations from the Chief Medical Health Officer.
"These public health measures are helping to address the spread of COVID-19 in Saskatoon and across the province."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.