COVID-19 related issues have been a controversial topic for some Okotoks voters this year.

The three mayoral candidates seeking election are Jeff Reinhart, Naydene Lewis, and Tanya Thorn, and each was asked to share their thoughts on the matter.

As for mask bylaws in town, their individual answers varied.

Jeff Reinhart says he’s in favour of leaving those decisions in the hands of the province without creating additional mandates as a municipality.

“I don’t believe that the town should be overstepping their bounds as far as going above and beyond the provincial government. I think it’s very important that municipalities have a strong and good relationship with the province in all facets so stepping on the province’s toes isn’t necessarily the best thing to do.”

Naydene Lewis says we need to rely on the province for information and follow their requirements.

“Because this is such a divisive issue in Okotoks and it’s causing a lot of division everywhere a person goes within Okotoks, I would go to the people first since it affects everybody.”

Lewis says she would want to conduct a survey and then present that information to council.

“I would vote in support of what the majority of Okotokians wanted.”

“I don’t think that we should be putting in a bylaw for Okotoks under any situation unless it’s required,” says Lewis.

Tanya Thorn says she can’t really take a position on whether or not she would vote yes or no to a mask bylaw in the future, as each situation would require its own assessment.

“We’ve got a scenario right now where the province has got a mask bylaw in place and they’ve got provincial public health orders in place, and I would be a proponent that we continue to follow those. And going forward, we’d have to look at what the situation was at that point in time,” says Thorn.

She says it a tough situation and that we need to continue following the direction we receive from the province on public health.

“I think it’s bad options versus bad options, so I think we’re all struggling with what makes sense. And I’m a proponent that as we move forward, the province is in charge of health, and they’ve got all the data to make determinations of where things should be going and what things should be happening,” says Thorn.

Each was asked to give their stance on the Restrictions Exemption Program (REP) requiring proof of vaccination or a purchased negative COVID test to enter eligible town buildings in comparison with doing one-third capacity restrictions.

Lewis was quick to share her initial thoughts on the REP.

“I would have supported the one-third capacity so that parents could get into skating rinks and swimming pools without any issues regarding their personal health.”

She later stated that her thoughts on the matter were irrelevant.

“I’m there to represent the people and what the people want, so whether it’s the REP program, or the one-third capacity, or a mask bylaw, it would come from the people.”

Lewis says this issue also presents some legal concerns.

“If a parent isn’t there to look after their child and something happens to them, because of the route that Okotoks has taken, they could be legally responsible for any outcomes that are unbecoming as our community.”

Reinhart says a lot of factors need to be considered.

“I’m the type of person that believes you need all the information about each side of a conversation, and at this time I don’t have that, so I really couldn’t say to which way I would fully go.”

As a current council member, Thorn was part of the discussion when town council voted on the REP versus one-third capacity.

“We went with the REP program because it allowed the facility to stay open to the maximum number of people in our community, totally recognizing there’s still some people in our community that have to take a different path maybe, whether that’s a rapid test or medical exemption letter to gain access because they don’t have a vaccine,” says Thorn.

“But again, everybody still has access to the facility, and that was the direction that we took. And kind of the rationale why is we wanted to make sure the facility stayed open to the largest group of people in our community.”

As far as requiring vaccinations to enter town buildings, Thorn says she would stick with the provincial directions on the matter.

“I’ll be a proponent of us continuing to follow whatever the public health orders are that come out from the province.”

Lewis says she would be in favour of whatever Okotokians wanted.

“I guess that would be the will of the people and what the people believe.”

“I’m not an anti-vaxxer by any stretch of the imagination,” says Lewis.

Reinhart acknowledges the level of controversy on the subject but believes there are certain rights that people need and should have.

"For me personally, I don’t believe in forcing anyone to put something in their body that they don’t want. I understand that vaccines can play an important part in our healthcare system, but at the end of the day, I believe that people should have the right to choose whether they want to be vaccinated or not,” he says.

“I just think that people need to come together and make sure that they respect and understand someone else’s point of view because they don’t know the full story of maybe why they feel the way they do. So conversations and respecting the fact that people are entitled to their opinion, and there’s reasons why they have those opinions, I think is very important for society as a whole.”

 

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