CALGARY: Mayor Naheed Nenshi led Calgary’s City Council in voting to extend the mandatory mask bylaw for a year and double fines for non-compliance..Under the new bylaw, masks will be mandatory in most non-residential places until December 2021..Fines were also doubled by the council, up to $100 for a first time offence, $200 for a second offence, and $300 for a third..The council approved the new bylaw by a 9-3 vote, with conservative councillors Jeromy Farkas, Sean Chu, and Joe Magliocca opposed, and Nenshi and the remaining councillors present in favour..The year-long extension and increase in fines comes on the heals of persistent ‘Freedom Marches’ on Saturdays in opposition to lockdowns and mask-mandates..Nenshi strongly condemned the marches, but supported Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests during the summer..Calgary’s move to extend the bylaw came after Alberta’s UCP government imposed a province-wide mandatory mask law and full lockdown that will last at least into the new year..These measures are facing a constitutional challenge from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF)..The City of Edmonton extended its mandatory mask bylaw for an entire year in late November.
