Airdrie City Council is on their Summer break, however Mayor Peter Brown has called a special meeting to discuss a hot topic.

Last week, city councils in Calgary and Edmonton voted to make masks mandatory in many public spaces. Since then, other municipalities have started to discuss the topic, with the Town of Banff voting on Monday to make masks mandatory in indoor public spaces as well as outdoors along Banff Avenue.

The City of Airdrie has been fielding numerous inquiries to see if something similar may happen here.

After receiving plenty of calls, emails, and social media messages, Mayor Brown decided to call council together for a meeting to discuss the topic of masks. It will take place today (Tuesday) at 1 p.m. and the live stream can be viewed HERE.

Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw and Premier Jason Kenney haven't made a definitive decision on mandatory masks, instead leaving it up to individual municipalities.

"This is a health issue. The City of Airdrie is not a health organization," he says. "Throughout the pandemic, [we've been] adhering to the health policies of the province."

While not provincially mandated, during a press conference on Monday, Dr. Hinshaw once again encouraged all Albertans to wear a mask when in public places.

"I continue to encourage you to wear a non-medical mask anywhere it may be hard to stay two metres apart, especially in indoor spaces," she said. "This could be on a bus, in a mall, or during your trip to the grocery store."

Mayor Brown says he's glad the City will be discussing the topic because he feels it's important to the community.

Anyone wishing to express their opinion on mandatory masks ahead of council's meeting can email legislative.services@airdrie.ca.

 

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