By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

municipality pleading with gov't

Innisfail town council writes Premier Kenney about restrictions

Jan 29, 2021 | 11:09 AM

Town council in Innisfail has written a letter to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney to say it is fearful of the long-term repercussions current pandemic restrictions may have on businesses.

The letter, which was endorsed by council at its meeting on Jan. 26, encourages the government to explore alternative means of balancing health restrictions with the needs of small businesses.

“As elected officials at the municipal level, we appreciate the efforts the Government of Alberta has made to protect public health while attempting to limit the impact of the virus on the provincial economy,” penned Mayor Jim Romane. “While we understand lessons have likely been learned along the way, it appears all restrictions and measures have been very carefully thought out, developed and implemented over the course of the last year.”

Romane continues, saying that in light on recent conversations amongst themselves and municipal neighbours, it’s become increasingly evident that ongoing restrictions will result in more small businesses being unable to survive.

“Among those that were fortunate enough to prevail through earlier closures and restrictions, we are now anticipating many to unfortunately succumb,” the mayor says. “We fear for the well-being of the men and women — our valued citizens and community members — who own and operate these businesses. Their absence will result in unspeakable loss for the entire community.”

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The letter outlines three specific requests, the first being relaxation of existing restrictions in a manner than reflects the geographic region’s number of active cases. As of Thursday, the Innisfail area had just 20 active cases of COVID-19, 165 to date, and zero deaths.

The second request is for businesses to be allowed to re-open or increase capacity in municipalities and regions where there is a low enough per-capita rate of active cases.

Request three asks the government to revisit existing funding and relief programs to ensure the level of support aligns with the needs of small businesses.

It was earlier this month in Innisfail where a barbershop re-opened against health restrictions. In its wake, Town Councillor Glenn Carritt resigned his seat after being called out for encouraging the violations.

Restaurants around central Alberta, including in rural areas like Rimbey, Sylvan Lake and Mirror, also opened this week despite orders.