Alberta Restrictions

I finally got an answer!

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That would be from my health unit

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So not every minister can preform a wedding.... You have to be registered through Ontario and that is why it's not considered part of their job

View quoted message This makes no sense as many wedding industry jobs are also irregular gig-economy roles that are side gigs for many people. So not sure why they would not count towards a gathering limit when an ordained minister who performs marriages as part of their duties for their religious profession would, especially when they're integral to the marriage process. You can get married without a DJ, decorator, photographer etc. You can't get married without an officiant.

View quoted message Again, where are you seeing this? Because anything related to staffing and gathering limits I've seen on the Ontario website hints at being staff of the facility, or at least make no overt/explicit mention of external vendors.


I'm not trying to argue. I'm actually trying to see where you're reading this info.

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In our area the officiant is not included because they don't consider being a minister a regular job.

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Did you try contacting your local health unit? Often they are able to give you a better answer.

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So that is our rules...

Our guidlines state that ANY vendor does not count.

View quoted message That’s exactly what I’m thinking. I have been trying to get an answer from the government, they won’t give me any information over the phone, just tell me to check online and email biz connect. And even biz connect’s answers are very vague. Still working on getting a clear, definite answer.

I highly recommend looking into your municipality's health unit rules because they can add further specifications and restrictions on what the province states. For example, while the Province of Ontario tries to be vague with their language when referencing facilities and their staff, the City of Toronto specifically states that people like the officiant count towards your gathering limit. And if someone as integral to the marriage process as an officiant counts, I can't imagine they would exempt the photographer and DJ.

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Where does it say that an external vendor like photographer etc don't count towards the limit? Anytime I see a gathering limit exclusion, it's based on the staff of a facility, which a photographer is not.

I know that in Ontario it is worded very closely to that. Photographers ect DO NOT count towards the limit.

I read it as staff of the venue are not included. If it was all vendors, I'm not sure why they would specifically exclude officiant, as they are a non-venue staff vendor. So unless your photographer, videographer, DJ, etc. are part of the venue I think they count towards the 10.

But if you want to know for sure I'd recommend calling AHS and asking for clarification. Better safe than be fined for a misunderstanding.

I do believe you're right about the photographer dj etc not being included in the count. That's how I feel when I read those restrictions

Exactly what I was thinking as well. If you find anything out, please let me know. I’m also trying to look into it.

I am trying to figure this out myself. In my opinion photographers, videographers etc are considered staff because they were not invited as a guest. They were hired as a vendor to do a job.