Calgary Minute: Daycare Outbreak, Housing Crisis, and a Saturday Council Meeting

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

This Week In Calgary:

• On Tuesday, at 9:30 am, there will be a Regular Meeting of City Council. There will be a verbal report from Administration about the impact of local electricity access fees on affordability - Council will direct Administration to research the history of these fees and any former proposed changes and report back by November 1st. They will also direct Administration to prepare some information about what potential changes could look like, and what the impact of those changes would be on the budget and on Calgarians, and report back by the end of Q1 2024. Council will also discuss changes to the Waste Bylaw that would prevent those living in designated areas from putting waste bins out overnight in order to minimize contact with bears and other wildlife.
  
  
• The Infrastructure and Planning Committee will meet on Wednesday at 9:30 am. On the agenda are multiple municipal historic resource designations, as well as proposed updates to the Calgary Parking Policies to streamline the process for changes to paid parking zones. The Community Development Committee will meet on Thursday at 9:30 am. The Committee will discuss Home is Here - The City of Calgary’s Housing Strategy 2024-2030.
  
  
• On Saturday, at 1:00 pm, there will be a Special Meeting of City Council to discuss the housing crisis and Calgary’s housing strategy - more on this below.

Last Week In Calgary:

• Mayor Jyoti Gondek has called an urgent Saturday meeting of Council to address the housing crisis. This comes after a proposal to streamline new housing builds was voted down by Council. The proposal included a recommendation to change the base zoning in the city to allow for duplexes, triplexes, and row housing, rather than just single family homes. This rezoning is unpopular with many in established neighbourhoods, so a motion to streamline the zoning process and shorten timelines for permits was proposed. The Executive Committee voted 8-7 against allowing the motion to move forward, with dissent based on procedural issues and conflict with the housing strategy debate coming up on Saturday.
  
  
• Ward 5 Councillor Raj Dhaliwal has spoken out about a violent clash in Falconridge between two Eritrean groups with differing views about politics in the northeast African country. Dhaliwal said many of his constituents were left shaken after the incident, which saw roughly 150 people engaged in conflict, some of whom used sticks, rocks, and bats as weapons. The Councillor said there must be consequences for the actions.
  
  
• More than 120 children were impacted by an outbreak of E. coli linked to a chain of daycare centres. The exact source of the outbreak has not yet been identified, but food for several of the daycare centres is prepared in one central kitchen. Alberta Health Services has set up a dedicated clinic to monitor patients after they are initially discharged from the emergency room. This includes daily bloodwork to monitor for a kidney condition that can come about as a complication of E. coli. Several children are receiving dialysis after being diagnosed with the condition.

-----

Donate:

Common Sense Calgary doesn't accept any government funding and never will. We think you should be free to choose, for yourself, which organizations to support. If you're in a position to contribute financially, you can make a donation here.

-----

Share:

If you're not in a position to donate, we understand, but if you appreciate our work, you can help by spreading our message. Please email this post to your friends, share it on Facebook or Twitter, and help make sure every Calgarian knows what's really going on at City Hall.