Last night at the Saskatoon city council meeting, they voted on removing the mask mandates from city facilities and buses. The City of Saskatoon mask mandate differs from the provincial mandate, which removed masking February 28, 2022..City administration recommended the mask mandate be removed from all city facilities and buses. Following the provincial guidelines of allowing people to make their personal health decisions, not the province..The city would still suggest wearing a mask, but not making it mandatory. Free masks would continue to be available at city facilities and on buses..“This is an alignment with the move locally and globally to move towards matching the risk of COVID at the individual or organizational level rather than through large impact public health orders,” said Saskatoon’s emergency manager Pamela Goulden-McLeod during Monday’s council meeting. Also, she pointed out the city’s local medical health officer agreed with lifting the mask mandates..Lifting all mask mandates was the original motion. However, Ward 2 Coun. Hilary Gough motioned to keep the mask mandate on buses as many councillors were not comfortable removing masking from Saskatoon Transit..“I do think that transit is a unique space… I think it’s very logical and reasonable to continue requiring that small measure as we continue through the school year,” said Gough. .She referenced the provincial COVID-19 data coming out weekly as “very uncertain” and hard to plan with. The number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths “remains high.”.The council voted eight to three to remove masks from city facilities and not buses. The councillors supporting Gough’s amendment were Darren Hill, Cynthia Block, Mairin Loewen, Zack Jefferies, Bev Dubois, and Mayor Charlie Clark..The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 615, which represents Saskatoon Transit bus drivers, supported the removal of masks on buses including for bus drivers, not only passengers..David Kirton, Ward 3 councillor, disagreed with Gough’s amendment to the masking requirement..“There hasn’t been a real-time when we haven’t listened to the medical health officer from the beginning,” said Kirton..“Why would we change that now we have heard from the medical health officer who supports the lifting of masks from transit.”.“It’s part of living with COVID, although councillors disagreed,” said Goulden-McLeod..Masks at city facilities will be lifted on April 4, 2022. The council will revisit the transit masking requirements in four weeks..Chris Oldcorn is a Western Standard Reporter based in Regina.,coldcorn@westernstandard.news,.Twitter: @chrisoldcorn
