You may have to keep wearing that mask until the end of next year, or face even bigger fines

Whether a person is in violation of the provincial order or the municipal bylaw depends on the location of the offence and would be up to the discretion of the officer issuing the ticket and the nature of the violation.

Some councillors wondered why the bylaw, brought in months before the province introduced a mandatory mask bylaw in late November, was still necessary given the new Alberta rules. They were told the two can coexist. 

Under the Alberta government rules, masks are mandatory across the province in all indoor workplaces and facilities outside the home, except when working alone in an office or a safely distanced cubicle or a barrier is in place, when in rental accommodations used solely as a private residence or in farm operations. 

The city bylaw covers public buildings and transit. 

Organizers of the anti-mask rallies that have been taking place in Calgary on weekends have received provincial fines for gatherings.

Council voted to ask administration for quarterly updates on the bylaw as the pandemic continues and vaccines trickle into the arms of citizens, but the extension of the bylaw means a vote won't be required every three months. 

"If we're looking at people in Alberta being fully vaccinated by the fall, then obviously there will be no need for the bylaw at that time," said Mayor Naheed Nenshi. 

"But the mask bylaw is probably one of the last things that will be eased in terms of restrictions because it's about preventing further spread. It's about being forward looking, and so I anticipate that we'll see it for a good chunk of 2021 at least."