Security company would enforce proposed bylaw to limit gatherings in Saskatoon: report
Saskatoon’s proposed COVID-19 gathering restrictions bylaw would cost about $32,400 to enforce, according to an administration report.
That enforcement would need to be provided through a contracted security company, as city staff who provide services related to inspection and enforcement of bylaws already have a demand that exceeds capacity for bylaw compliance and don’t have the required training, the report says.
City Council had directed administration to draft a bylaw at its Monday meeting after the province rejected its request for local restrictions to fight the spread of COVID-19 and protect the healthcare system.
The report suggests the public could file online or phone complaints regarding infractions, and the city would then dispatch the contracted company.
The cost for enforcement would depend on the desired response level; the $32,400 estimate is based on three officers being available 12 hours per day.
The bylaw would:
- Prohibit the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated from gathering in private dwellings beyond their own household.
- Permit fully vaccinated households to socialize with up to one other fully vaccinated household including children under 12 who are not yet eligible for vaccination.
- Reduce private gathering sizes in public venues such as weddings and funerals to 25 per cent capacity, with no indoor dining, where required proof of vaccination is not required for the event. If proof of vaccination is required, these restrictions would not apply.
- Reduce gathering sizes at places of worship to 25 per cent capacity or a maximum of 150 people, whichever is less, where proof of vaccination is not required. If proof of vaccination is required, these restrictions would not apply.
Infractions for individuals carry a $250 fine for a first offense, $500 for a second and $750 for a third, up to a maximum of $2,000.
Corporations would face a maximum fine of $10,000.
Council is to consider the bylaw at a special meeting on Friday.
The proposed bylaw drew some criticism from residents, included in written submissions to council.
“It is unfortunate that the city is going to create another bylaw that will have absolutely no practical effect in confronting the issue at hand,” Ari Avivi said.
“It is an overreach of council’s authority to enact public health orders. This is a provincial responsibility. Our city needs you to spend your time and our money on things that are within your jurisdiction,” wrote Deloise McKnight.
Added Jill Willick: “I'm writing as a concerned and frustrated citizen of Saskatoon. I certainly understand what the city is trying to do, but I don't think these restrictions are logical and I don't believe that they will be effective."
On Monday, Clark told council a city bylaw is “worth trying” even though it’s an “imperfect solution.”
“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.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.