WESTLOCK - As of the end of October, the Town of Westlock’s municipal enforcement department received only a handful of complaints about people not following the municipality’s mandatory face-covering bylaw, while its communications department was flooded with 20-plus calls asking for clarification.
Town of Westlock CAO Simone Wiley said the low complaint count is pretty much what they expected as they worked hard across a variety of media to inform the public about the bylaw, which was unanimously passed by town council Oct. 26 and came into effect two days later.
In addition to the two complaints received by municipal enforcement as of Oct. 31, the town’s communication’s department fielded 26 calls on Bylaw 2020-22, which included another complaint of a person not following the edict — municipal enforcement stats were included in town council’s Nov. 9 agenda package. Fines for people who disregard the bylaw, or harass or intimidate anyone exempt from wearing a mask, start at $100 and top out at $1,000, although no tickets have been issued.
“It’s kind of what we expected. I think we did a really good job of putting messaging out so that we could mitigate the amount of calls and really let the community know that it wasn’t about enforcement, we’re really just promoting and recommending mask wearing,” said Wiley Nov. 10, noting that since the report to council there’s been two more complaints, while the number of calls asking for clarification or information has dropped off to a handful over the past week.
“So I think two really isn’t very significant because we were putting our messaging out to the community.”
As per the bylaw, a public place is defined as any property, whether publicly or privately owned, to which members of the public have access as a right of way, or by express or implied invitation, whether on payment of any fee or not.
Schools and child-care facilities are exempt, as are areas exclusively accessed or used by employees in businesses where there are physical barriers, or if there are physical distancing practices in place. Platforms or stages in places of worship during services, provided that physical barriers or physical distancing is in effect, are also exempt.
There are also 10 exemptions for people from wearing a face covering: kids under 10; anyone unable to place, use or remove one without assistance; anyone unable to wear a mask due to a mental or physical concern or limitation; people eating or drinking in either a designated place or as part of a religious ceremony; anyone engaged in a physical activity (athletics); anyone providing care or assistance to a person with a disability where a mask would hinder their efforts; persons engaging in a service that requires the temporary removal of a mask; persons participating in theatrical dance or some form of musical performance so long as the participants are two metres apart and performers don’t enter areas where the public is viewing; people providing or receiving a service that requires personal consultation as long as the activity occurs in a closed office or meeting room and the participants stay two metres apart; persons separated from others by physical barriers or plexiglass shields.
