TAMRMS#: B06
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Local Enforcement of COVID-19 Orders Issued by Chief Medical Officer of Health
Presented by: David Leflar, Director, Legal & Legislative Services
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RECOMMENDED MOTION
That in co-operation with the efforts of the Government of Alberta to reduce community spread of the COVID-19 virus, Council hereby expresses its support for St. Albert's Community Peace Officers ("CPOs") to enforce COVID-19 related Orders of the Chief Medical Officer of Health (the "CMOH") by all available means including issuing a violation ticket where a CPO considers that to be an appropriate enforcement response to an incident of non-compliance.
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PURPOSE OF REPORT
To recommend that Council adopt a policy statement concerning local enforcement of provincial public health orders aimed at slowing or halting community spread of the COVID-19 virus
ALIGNMENT TO STATUTORY PROVISIONS
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the Government of Alberta has taken a variety of steps to attempt to mitigate the impact of and/or slow the spread of the virus, including Orders issued by the Chief Medical Officer of Health to limit or prohibit certain behaviors or activities by persons in St. Albert and other parts of Alberta. Over the past few weeks these CMOH Orders have become more focused and targeted. The Solicitor General has also issued a Ministerial Order giving Level 1 Community Peace Officers the authority to enforce the CMOH Orders.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
COVID-19 active cases, hospitalizations and deaths -- and the associated pressures on health care systems, facilities and workers -- have increased significantly over the past few weeks in many jurisdictions in Canada and around the world, including Alberta. In direct response to that trend, on November 24, 2020 the Government of Alberta declared its second state of public health emergency this year. In the following days the Chief Medical Officer of Health issued several new Orders designed to change Albertans' behaviors in ways the CMOH believes will enhance our ability to reverse these alarming COVID trends.
Despite the fact that the rising COVID-19 numbers have been widely publicly reported, our Municipal Enforcement Services and RCMP officers are still seeing incidents of non-compliance with CMOH Orders. They believe these incidents may be related at least in part to public perception that contraventions of public health orders will not carry any consequences -- because the Orders will not be enforced. It was therefore significant that in announcing a new suite of CMOH Orders on November 24 2020 the Premier made it clear that the time had come to transition from a primarily education/encouragement approach, to an approach that puts greater emphasis on enforcement. Three days later the Solicitor General issued a Ministerial Order expanding the range of officials who have the authority to enforce CMOH Orders. Most significantly for St. Albert, our Community Peace Officers are now fully empowered to issue violation tickets to persons who the Officers believe on reasonable and probable grounds to have contravened a CMOH Order.
The recent COVID-19 case numbers in St. Albert have not been very much different from the high numbers in the Edmonton region generally, so Administration believes it is incumbent on St. Albert to "pull its weight" by showing active support for the new provincial measures. Administration therefore recommends that Council signal its support for the new emphasis on enforcement of CMOH Orders, within our municipal boundaries. There is a basic principle that elected officials should try to avoid becoming directly involved in law enforcement decisions and resource deployments, which is why the recommended Motion is worded to be a policy statement, not an operational direction to the CAO. It is no less important for that, however, since it is the Council that takes the lead and sets the tone on public policy at the municipal level, thereby messaging to our residents what is expected of them. St. Albert does have sufficient resources within Municipal Enforcement Services to respond to complaints of contraventions of CMOH Orders, and to issue violation tickets in appropriate cases.
Our CPOs are all bylaw enforcement officers as well. As such they have been enforcing, and will continue to enforce, the Face Coverings Bylaw for as long as that bylaw is in effect. Enforcement of CMOH Orders would be a natural complement to enforcing the bylaw.
The matter of enforcement of CMOH Orders was discussed at the meeting of the Emergency Advisory Committee on December 1, 2020. The Committee did not pass a formal Motion directing Administration to bring this matter to Council, but did express its support for enforcement by the CPOs and its expectation that a recommended Motion to this effect would be on the December 7, 2020 Council Agenda.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS OR ENGAGEMENT
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IMPLICATIONS OF RECOMMENDED MOTION
Since the Motion is essentially a policy statement, it has no direct financial, legal/risk, organizational or program/service implications. Any CMOH Order enforcement activities that Municipal Enforcement Services undertakes, would be absorbed within the department's existing budget.
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED
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Report Date: December 7, 2020
Author: David Leflar, Director
Department: Legal & Legislative Services
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer: Kerry Hilts
Chief Administrative Officer: Kevin Scoble