Hinton Emergency Operations Centre

The Hinton Emergency Operations Centre remains active, receiving guidance from both the Province and Local Agencies on statuses and needs. The below information represents a digest of relevant information considered important to pass on to local audiences. 

CURRENT HINTON STATUS 
(AS OF 4PM ON NOVEMBER 26, 2020):
ENHANCED

Physical Distancing, Provincial Group Restrictions, and Cleaning Practices Must Continue

It is essential that residents and businesses understand that suppression activities, in particular maintaining safe distances, must be maintained.

If not maintained, transmission will rapidly rebound, potentially producing an epidemic comparable in scale to what would have been seen had no interventions been adopted.

The Town, and Province, need your help to continue to restrict your activities in the interest of community health. Distancing, hand washing, and sanitizing is absolutely crucial.

To view current Provincial Restrictions, please visit the Government of Alberta's COVID web site, available here.

• All Alberta
  • No indoor social gatherings in any setting 
  • Outdoor gatherings max of 10
  • Wedding and funeral services max of 10, no receptions permitted 
  • No festivals or events 
  • Grades 7-12 at-home learning Nov 30-Jan 11
  • Grades K-6 at-home learning Dec 18-Jan 11 
  • Working from home should be considered, where possible 
• Enhanced Areas [the new measures related to businesses (and sports) will be in effect for Hinton tomorrow until at least December 15, per CMOH Order 39]
  • Places of worship at 1/3 normal attendance
  • Restricted access to some businesses and services starting Nov. 27
• Calgary/Edmonton Area
  • Mandatory masks for indoor workplaces

• Places of worship are to operate at a maximum of 1/3 normal attendance when held at normal location, including rental spaces like a community hall
• Physical distancing between households must be maintained
• Mask use is mandatory
• Online services are encouraged
• In-person faith group meetings can continue but physical distancing and public health measures must be followed.

• Banquet halls, conference centres, trade shows, auditoria and concert venues, non-approved/licensed markets, community centres
• Children’s play places or indoor playgrounds
• All levels of sport (professional, semi-professional, junior, collegiate/universities and amateur). Exemptions may be considered.

Public health orders

To protect the health and safety of Albertans, public health orders are legally-enforceable and fines can be issued for violations.

• Minimum mandatory quarantine for 14 days for anyone who returned to or entered Alberta from outside Canada, or are a close contact of someone with COVID-19.
• Minimum mandatory isolation for 10 days for anyone who has a confirmed case of COVID-19, or have core symptoms that are not related to a pre-existing illness or health condition: cough, fever, shortness of breath, runny nose or sore throat.
  • Children under 18 are exempt from mandatory isolation for runny nose or sore throat but should stay home until symptoms are gone.
• Operational protocols, including limited visitation, are enforceable for all auxiliary hospitals, nursing homes, designated supportive living and long-term care facilities, seniors lodges and any facility in which residential addiction treatment services are offered.
• Outbreak standards are in place for operators, managers and staff at all congregate health settings, including all auxiliary hospitals, nursing homes, designated supportive living and long-term care facilities, seniors lodges and facilities in which residential addiction treatment services are offered.

Submit a violation complaint

Enforcement
If you violate a public health order, you may be subject to a $1,000 fine. Additionally, you can be prosecuted for up to $100,000 for a first offense.

If you are concerned someone is not following public health orders, you can:

remind them that not following orders is against the law and puts people at risk
submit a complaint to AHS public health inspectors online or call 1-833-415-9179

Submit a complaint

Complaints that require an immediate response can also be reported to your local police force through their administrative phone line.

State of Public Health Emergency

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney declared a state of public health emergency on Tuesday afternoon, along with a slate of new restrictions that will remain in place for at least three weeks as his government tries to slow a pandemic raging on a day when the province reported 1,115 new cases and 13,349 active cases of the disease, by far the highest number yet.

View the update on the Government of Alberta YouTube here. 

Masks Mandatory in Public Areas

At 4:29 PM on November 20, 2020, Hinton Town Council unanimously approved Bylaw 1151: Temporary Mandatory Mask And Face Coverings. This bylaw will be reviewed every first and third Tuesday of each month at a Regular Meeting of Council or a Special Meeting of Council.

The Bylaw section 3.1 reads:

All persons shall always wear a Face Covering while in an indoor, enclosed, or substantially enclosed Public Place or in any Public Transportation Vehicle.

This bylaw took affect at 8:00 AM on Saturday, November 21, 2020. 

The Town of Hinton has the authority to enact this decision based on the Municipal Governance Act. Section 7 of the Municipal Government Act, RSA 2000 c. M-26 allows Council to pass bylaws for municipal purposes respecting matters including:

• The safety, health, and welfare of people and the protection of people and property;
• People, activities, and things in, on, or near a public place or place that is open to the public;
• Businesses, business activities, and persons engaged in business

Municipal measures, including the Temporary Mandatory Mask and Face Coverings Bylaw #1151, will continue to be in effect. This means that wearing face coverings in Public Places and in Public Transportation Vehicles is still required.
 
Next Steps
 
Bylaw #1151 will be reviewed on the first and third Tuesday of each month at a Regular or Special Meeting of Council. It will be reviewed next at the December 1, 2020 Regular Meeting of Council.
 
The Town of Hinton may continue to fluctuate between Enhanced and Open Status, with a caseload close to 10 active cases. Please refer to the regularly issued Town of Hinton COVID-19 Status Updates, which are released weekly on Thursdays, for future updates.
 
Bylaw #1151 – Businesses
 
The Temporary Mandatory Mask and Face Coverings Bylaw #1151 applies to all public spaces, whether publicly or privately owned. As such, patrons are required to wear masks inside private businesses.
 
Businesses cannot set exemptions for this Bylaw. If a business is experiencing enforcement issues, please contact the RCMP at 865-5544 or Bylaw Services at 865-6009.

To find resources for business, please visit Hinton.ca/Masks

Hinton Town Council 

Early in the Town Response to COVID-19, Town Council meetings were moved to remote environments, closed to the public, and streamed online to allow for easy access by residents. However, one aspect of our Council meetings that was lost in this necessary response was Minute with Council. 

Traditionally, Residents have been welcomed to speak to Council about issues, events, celebrations or concerns during Minute with Council. At the beginning of each Council Meeting, the chair of the meeting opens the floor to the public to speak and share with Council members, administration and meeting observers. 

As we determine the "new normal" in this pandemic response, the Town of Hinton has established a procedure to take part in Minute with Council remotely, temporarily, as we prepare for further steps in our reopening plans.

This process is being established to avoid risks of public meeting teleconferencing, such as inappropriate or abusive interjections by anonymous or false identities.

We appreciate your understanding should this cause any inconvenience for you.

Please use this form to receive an invite code to join our proceedings remotely.
Should you encounter difficulty using the form, please call 780-865-6072.

Read more here.

Town of Hinton Administration

ComServ 14 Available Tomorrow

Government Centre Closed to Public Between December 25
The Town of Hinton is providing notice to all residents and businesses who attend the Government Centre that the building will be closed between noon December 24, 2020 and 8 am on January 4, 2021. 

We'd like to remind residents who may have business licenses coming do, or other business, of their options for online operations, including: 

Accessing Your Information

• Business Licenses 

• Tax/Assessment Information

• Utility Accounts

• Public Tax Roll information

• and a newly integrated Business Directory

Paying Your Bills

• You can drop your payment in the secure mail box located outside the main entrance at the Government Centre on the right hand side of the main doors

• The Town of Hinton is partnered with the OptionPay System to accept online payments with select credit cards

  • Payments may be accepted via Mastercard and Visa. Please note that OptionPay institutes a fee for use

  • Read more here on the OptionPay website

• You can pay as a bill through your online banking
  • You will have to set up the Town of Hinton as one of your payees. You can try searching “Hinton” or “Town of Hinton”. Three different options should appear, one being for utilities, property taxes and accounts receivable. In this case you will want to select the accounts receivable. Your account number will be your customer number on your invoice. Your bank may require more digits than the customer number, if so you will need to put a zero or zero's in front of the first digit of your customer number in order to make it as many digits as they require