City of Calgary update on COVID-19 enforcement and safety measures
City of Calgary Community Peace Officers and the Calgary Police Service (CPS) continue to work together, along with Alberta Health Services (AHS), to ensure enforcement of all bylaws and public health orders.
The Temporary COVID-19 Face Coverings Bylaw came into effect August 1, 2020. On Monday, December 11 Calgary City Council extended the temporary bylaw through December 2021 and increased penalties for failure to wear a face covering and repeat violations within a 12-month period.
Enforcement of the temporary bylaw has resulted in:
- 67 violation tickets for failure to wear a face covering where required since August 1, 2020
- Of those, 6 violation tickets have been issued since December 23, 2020
- One ticket has been issued for failure to display prescribed signage in an entryway of a public indoor space. This is the only ticket issued of this nature since August 1, 2020
The total number of tickets issued under the Public Health Act (PHA) since the State of Local Emergency was declared is:
- 69 violation tickets since November 24, 2020
- 22 of those violation tickets were issued since December 23, 2020
Calgary police and peace officers actively patrolled and monitored crowd situations at shopping malls in Calgary throughout the Boxing Day weekend. Overall, compliance was high with the capacity restrictions and safety protocols implemented by mall management. Officers also responded to citizen concerns over the holidays and the vast majority of Calgarians were viewed to be complying with the restrictions and enforcement was not required in most cases.
The City of Calgary’s top priority remains the health and safety of Calgarians and the current limits are in place to ensure everyone can have an enjoyable and safe outdoor experience.“Park spaces and ice rinks were monitored in locations where distancing at entry points of these locations can be a concern,” said Susan Wall, Duty Inspector, Calgary Community Standards. “We are observing that with the current nice weather, busy periods of use on popular ice rinks is typically between 1 to 5 p.m. and in an effort to enhance safety, we would like to ask Calgarians to consider going at alternate times so that physical distancing can be maintained.”
A popular Calgary skating location, Bowness Lagoon, is not a skating rink in the traditional sense as it is a much larger, outdoor Parks area that is used for various recreational purposes including skating. All participants at Bowness Park must follow the Provincial Health Orders and maintain 2 metres from anyone outside of their household and wear a face covering if distancing is not possible.
“Due to safety concerns, face coverings or masks will now be a recommended when tying skates in bench areas or using fire pits, and remain a requirement when you cannot maintain 2 metres from anyone outside of your household,” says Justin Brown, Zone Superintendent, Calgary Parks. “We ask that everyone spread out while putting on their skates and that they do so as quickly as possible, so others may use the benches and avoid crowding.”
Over the coming week, additional signage will be put up in City of Calgary skating areas to help guide Calgarians on these new measures.
When at skating rinks or areas that are at capacity, skaters must wait in line and skating times may be limited.
The City of Calgary requires Calgarians to stay off any and all frozen storm ponds. Even in winter, water levels and flows change rapidly, making skating or other activities extremely dangerous and strictly prohibited.
The City reminds Calgarians that if you arrive at any outdoor location and it appears to be crowded, please come back at a quieter time or go to a different outdoor space.
Calgarians or businesses can submit questions, concerns or report complaints to Alberta Health Services online or by calling 1-833-415-9179, or to The City by contacting 311, or the CPS non-emergency at 403-266-1234 where violations are suspected.
More information is available on Calgary.ca/covid19.
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