Both @doniveson and @jkenney 's reasoning for not creating indoor masking laws is weak & their reluctance to enact one is downloading “public health best practices” on to private businesses and its not fair to those businesses. This long thread expands on those two points. 1/
1)Weak reasoning

– both stated that it would be too tough to enforce. If so, why do jurisdictions many times the size of EDM and AB have indoor mask laws? If its not too tough for them, why is it here? 2/
-Kenney stated that he didn’t want police ticketing people for not wearing masks. Why be punitive? Why not be positive and have police/bylaw officers carry extra masks and just give them out if they want to stop someone who isn’t wearing one? 3/
“I’m not wearing one unless they make it law”. We are generally law abiding people. Many who don’t wear them today will if there is a law. Even if you told the police never to give out a ticket for not wearing a mask, I’d wager compliance would be over 80% tomorrow. 5/
That’s what we need, high compliance rates to keep the spread low. We do not have high compliance rates now.

2) Downloading enforcement of best public health practices to private businesses

-Many indoor businesses want to protect their employees but are reluctant to ....6/
...require masks because of the people who see it as an infringement on their rights or don’t believe in them and they don’t want to lose any customers, especially in this economy. It’s a tough spot to be in. I’m in it myself. My shop didn't close for Covid. /7
-Some anti-mask people can also get violent and employers also don’t want to put their employees in a situation that might involve immediate physical harm.

-If there were a law, the staff at the indoor businesses could... 8/
...simply say “sir/madam it’s the law, I can’t let you in without one” and it moves the “power of decision making” and direction of the ire from the store to the government.

-Governments expecting private businesses to “do the right thing” are abdicating their responsibility. 9/
Lastly, one more word on “Its my right to not wear a mask"

As someone who is often on the right side of the political spectrum and giant fan of individual liberty, I still don’t get this argument at all. 10/
Infringement on individual rights for the sake of public health happens all the time. The same people who tell me they will only wear a mask if its law wear their seat belt in a car.

A seat belt is a great example infringement on your rights for the sake of public health. 11/
In fact, it’s not even “public health” in this case because the law is trying to save the seat belt wearer, not the general public.

The law also infringes on your right to get drunk and drive a car in the name of public health. You might hurt/kill someone. 12/
Wearing masks indoors in public is the same thing. You might be infected and not symptomatic yet and you might hurt/kill someone.

You do not have the right to not wear a seat belt, you do not have the right to drink and drive... 13/
... and you do not have the right to unknowingly spread a pandemic virus to innocent people.

-It’s well established that wearing masks indoors works to lower spread and it has become practice in the majority of the world, including countries with very similar cultures to us. 14/
We need to keep the economy open & lower transmission rates at the same time until we get a vaccine.

Wear a mask, save a job, save a life.

Kenney & Iveson need to be the leaders the majority of the population of this province and city need them to be.

Make it law.

15/15
Forgot to add these to the thread above: #Masks4Canada #WearAMaskyeg
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