Calgary Minute: Budget Allocations, Recycling Facility, and a Tuesday Evening Event

Calgary Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Calgary politics

This Week In Calgary:

• On Tuesday, at 9:30 am, there will be a Public Hearing to address several land use amendments. Then, the Council Services Committee will meet on Thursday at 9:30 am. No agenda is available for this meeting yet. Later in the day, at 1:00 pm, the Calgary Planning Commission will meet to discuss several land use amendments.
  
  
• The inaugural meeting of the Council Compensation Review Committee will take place on Friday at 2:30 pm. No agenda is available for this meeting yet, but we’d like to see it be a quick one to simply decide that Councillors do not get another raise until they get spending under control.
  
  
• Common Sense Calgary is hosting a Pints & Politics event on Tuesday night at 6:00 pm at Brickwell Taphouse. We're going to keep things simple and just have some casual drinks, with no formal agenda, as an opportunity for everyone to get together with like-minded Calgarians. The event is free, but registration is required. You can RSVP by clicking here.

Last Week In Calgary:

• The Alberta government delivered its 2024-25 budget, and allocated approximately $2 billion for significant projects and upgrades in Calgary over the next three years. The funding includes $667 million designated for LRT projects, with a focus on financing the construction of the Green Line. Funding has also been allocated to another line within the city's CTrain network, potentially paving the way for a future connection to Calgary International Airport. Additionally, $55 million will be allocated to the University of Calgary to enhance STEM spaces, $103 million will go towards adding 420 long term care spaces at the Bethany Continuing Care Centre, $70 million will help to increase capacity at the Foothills Medical Centre's NICU, and $67 million is earmarked for redevelopment of the emergency department at the Peter Lougheed Centre. The Chamber of Commerce said they were generally pleased with the budget, but Mayor Jyoti Gondek called it an “austerity budget”, which seems an odd comment for a budget that increases spending significantly.
  
  
• The City announced its partnership with two local organizations - the Calgary Construction Association and Alberta Ecotrust - to launch the Calgary Community of Practice, an initiative under the Emissions-Neutral Buildings Information Exchange (ENBIX). This collaboration aims to create a platform for local professionals to exchange information on emissions-neutral construction and accelerate the development of new emissions-neutral buildings. ENBIX will facilitate knowledge sharing through webinars, site visits, technology demonstrations, and training sessions over the next four years. The initiative seeks to identify local challenges, foster innovation, and contribute to the City's goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
  
  
• GFL Environmental Inc. unveiled its new 70,000-square-foot recycling facility near Calgary, incorporating advanced technology such as AI and robots to process recyclables from over 350,000 Calgary households. The facility features ballistic separators, optical sorters, and robotics that quickly and accurately sort recyclables into marketable commodities. With the capacity to process 297 tonnes of recyclables daily, the facility aims to recover materials suitable for making new cardboard boxes, pop bottles, and cans. While GFL paid to build the facility, and will also pay to operate it, they will charge the City a “confidential processing fee.”

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