City council approves money for masks and extension of tax program

Visitors and staff across all departments of the City of Winnipeg will get access to free non-medical masks.

City council voted unanimously Monday at a special meeting to provide $325,000 to pay for the masks and make them available at facilities across Winnipeg.

The funding will also be used to increase public education on using masks.

The city made masks mandatory on Transit buses and in all city buildings on Aug. 29.

North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty has been championingthe use of masks on city buses since spring.

"The reality is, we have to live with this virus. It's not going away soon. This is another step for making people feel comfortable," Browaty told his council colleagues Monday during the special meeting.

• Masks mandatory on Winnipeg Transit buses, in city buildings starting Saturday

Transcona Coun. Shawn Nasonremarked on the recent rise in the number of cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba and the hope the new measures would have a positive effect.

"There is no magic formula to protect against the virus hopefully we can bring these numbers back in check," Nason said.

Alimited number of face masks are currently available at public facilities where masks are required, including city hall, recreation and leisure facilities, libraries, and administrative offices until supplies are exhausted, a spokesperson said Monday.

Transit riders can pick up a face mask atTransit kiosksand city librariesduring regular operating hours.

Waverley West Coun. Janice Lukes asked she's received many inquires over the weekend about how the city intended to enforce the mask requirement.

At a news briefing after the council meeting, Mayor BrianBowman reiterated the hope residents learn and follow the rules through education.

"I do expect it will take time for Winnipeggersto understand the rules and do their part," Bowman said.

WATCH |City council approves money for masks and extension of tax program

City council approves money for masks and extension of tax program

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Visitors and staff across all departments of the City of Winnipeg will get access to free non-medical masks.

Tax penalty waiver program extended

Council also extended a waiverof penalties on unpaid 2020 property and businesstaxes to Nov. 30.

It's tough to pinpoint how many businesses and property owners have deferred their taxes, a City of Winnipeg spokesperson told CBC News in an email, but thecity mailed business tax reminder notices to 2,217 accounts in July, and property tax reminder notices to 20,760 accounts in August.

Thereminders were sent to accounts with an outstanding balance after the typical business and property tax due dates of May 31/June 30, the spokesperson added.

The city had originally expected the three-month tax deferral to cost $5.1 million.The cost of extending both waivers is estimated at $1,577,000.

• Winnipeg city council declares local state of emergency due to COVID-19, passes tax-relief plan

The motion passed unanimously as well, but the councillor forCharleswood-Tuxedo-Westwoodwas dismayed the request came with little financial detail about how much the city has not collected in taxes during the pandemic.

"Why weren't we given the information about the year-to-date non-payment of taxes?" asked Coun. Kevin Klein. "How much of our property tax is outstanding or how much of our business tax is outstanding?"

Bowman told reporters any financial information Klein might wishcould have been provided to him by the civil service the weekend before the vote.

Bowman says the most persuasive reason he's seen to offer the waiver extension was a Conference Board of Canada report in August suggesting an economic recovery would be slower than hoped.

"This was a low-cost response to that," Bowman said.