Update:

Calgary Council just voted by 8-6 to keep Calgary's mask mandate in place after the Province repeals their mandate at the end of July

Voting to keep Calgary's mandate in place were Mayor Nenshi and Councillors Gondek, Keating, Woolley, Carra, Chahal, Colley-Urquhart, and Farrell.

Voting against were Councillors Chu, Davison, Demong, Farkas, Magliocca, and Sutherland.

Council will now meet again on July 5th, after the province's mandate will have already expired, to again discuss potentially repealing the law, if it is deemed to be safe to do so by then.

This vote followed an earlier failed motion by Councillor Farkas that would have repealed the City's mask mandate on the same day that the province's rules are removed.

Councillor Farkas' proposal failed on a tie, 7-7, with Councillors Farkas, Keating, Chu, Magliocca, Demong, Davison, and Sutherland in favour and Mayor Nenshi and Councillors Gondek, Farrell, Woolley, Carra, Chahal, and Colley-Urquhart against.

End Calgary's Mask Mandate

Calgary Council is currently debating whether to extend the City's mask mandate until at least August, and potentially longer.

This is despite the provincial mandate to wear masks ending at the end of this month.

Council is explicitly and deliberately ignoring the expert medical and scientific advice from the province and instead, they have decided to listen to the advice of Dr. Raj Bhardwaj.

Dr. Bhardwaj is a Calgary-based family doctor and, while we're sure he is excellent in that role, he is self-admittedly *NOT* an epidemiologist, nor an expert in infectious diseases.

Dr. Bhardwaj has actually recommended that Council keep the mask mandate in place indefinitely and only remove it based on a vague set of criteria around second-dose vaccinations, hospitalizations, and case numbers.

Remember, this is all the opposite of the advice being provided by the actual experts in epidemiology and infectious diseases, who recommend that it is safe to remove mask requirements in Alberta at the end of June.

During the Council meeting, several Councillors asked the Mayor and City officials why they were taking the advice of a family doctor instead of the experts.

City officials simply said that they wanted an alternative opinion.

That is unacceptable.

Governments have massive powers to impinge on citizens' freedoms, but to do so they must be able to provide evidence that any intervention is justified.

That is simply not the case anymore.

The vulnerable have received both doses, most Calgarians have received a first dose (a higher percentage than elsewhere in the province, in fact), and cases and hospitalizations have plummeted.

The local state of emergency in Calgary and the provincial state of emergency in Alberta aren't even in effect anymore!

The simple truth is that there is a certain type of politician and government employee who has enjoyed the additional powers they have had during this pandemic, and they aren't ready to give up that power yet.

No one is suggesting banning Calgarians from wearing a mask if they would like to continue doing so, but all of the scientific evidence shows that it's time to remove the mask mandate.

If you agree, please sign our petition to End Calgary's Mask Mandate.