Sask. gov't says Saskatoon overstepped in aborted move to limit private gatherings

The Saskatchewan government is responding to criticisms that it blocked local efforts by Saskatoon's city council to bring in more measures to blunt the effect of the fourth wave of COVID-19.

"The City of Saskatoon wanted to move in an area that is not their jurisdiction. They knew it," Don McMorris, the province's minister of government relations, said in the legislative assembly on Monday.

"[Cities] need to recognize that we're dealing with this on a larger picture with the province," echoed Health Minister Paul Merriman in a scrum with reporters.

On Friday, Saskatoon city councillors debated a temporary bylaw that would have prohibited private gatherings for unvaccinated or partly vaccinated Saskatoon residents outside of their own households.

The law would also have reduced gathering sizes for weddings, funerals and churches to 25 per cent of the building's capacity, with no indoor dining (or a maximum of 150 people for churches) if the event was not requiring proof of vaccination.

During the meeting, Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark said the Saskatchewan government had already indicated, three days earlier, that it would not support "municipalities who implement bylaws based on the advice of local medical health officers," as Clark described it.

Councillors then voted down the second reading of the bylaw in 10-1 vote, with only Ward 2 Councillor Hilary Gough voting in support of the measure. Councillors had been more evenly split before Clark spoke of the province's stance.

In a statement after the meeting, Clark criticized the province for sending out mixed messages about what cities could do during the pandemic. He pointed to remarks Premier Scott Moe and Merriman made earlier in the fourth wave encouraging municipalities to look at further steps to combat COVID-19.

Clark cited Merriman's remark on Oct. 14 that, "if the municipalities want to be able to add on top of that, they have that ability to do that."

Clark added he was disappointed with the province's decision on Friday "to limit our ability to take action."

'Knew what the response would be'

Matt Love with the Opposition Saskatchewan NDP brought up the episode in the legislative assembly on Monday. Love accused the province of sowing chaos and asked Merriman to respond.

McMorris stood up in the health minister's place. 

"The City of Saskatoon knew what the response would be," McMorris said. "And I think that is reflected in their vote."

McMorris said the province had been clear with Clark about what powers the City of Saskatoon does and doesn't have.

He said the Saskatchewan government has supported cities in enacting rules that are within their powers, such as limiting the number of people who can gather in city-owned facilities. 

"The only reason they voted the motion down was because you intervened and told them that you wouldn't let them do it," Love countered. 

When asked about the Love-McMorris exchange in his scrum with reporters, Merriman said he thought McMorris had been clear.

"The City of Saskatoon has kind of its laneway on what it has authority over. And if they wanted, they can implement stricter restrictions within city facilities. They could easily do that. And that's what I was talking about [before]."