Calgary Minute: Aviation Hub, Retrofit Funding, and Possible Olympic Bid

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

This Week In Calgary:

• Happy Thanksgiving! City Hall will be observing a holiday today so there are no meetings scheduled.
  
  
• On Tuesday, there are two meetings scheduled. The Nominations Committee will meet at 9:30 am to discuss a Public Member nomination to the Saddledome Foundation, 2022 Public Member Appointments to Boards, Commissions, and Committees, and a Civic Partner Appointments Report. These three items will be discussed in-camera. The Business Advisory Committee will also meet at 9:30 am on Tuesday. There is just the single item on the agenda - an Update Report on Business Advisory Committee 2022-2023 Priorities.
  
  
• The Intergovernmental Affairs Committee will meet on Wednesday at 9:30 am. Items on the agenda include an update from the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. An update from the Rocky View County Annexation Negotiation Committee will be discussed in-camera. The Infrastructure and Planning Committee will meet on Friday at 9:30 am and the Green Line Board will meet shortly after, at 1:00 pm. No agenda for either meeting is available yet.

Last Week In Calgary:

• At a funding announcement at Winsport’s Canada Olympic Park, Culture Minister Ron Orr said the Province is open to another Calgary Olympic bid. He added that there is a small group of individuals looking at possible opportunities - but that any developments are a long way into the future. Mayor Jyoti Gondek seemed blindsided by Orr’s comments.
  
  
• The Province announced that Calgary will be designated the exclusive global connecting hub for WestJet. This partnership with the Province will double WestJet’s capacity in Calgary over the next several years and the company’s Dreamliners will exclusively fly out of the city. The deal includes a large investment into Mount Royal University’s pilot training program, enabling the institution to add 40 more seats to its aviation diploma.
  
  
• The Minister of Natural Resources was at City Hall to announce Calgary as one of four municipalities sharing in $25.6 million of federal money aimed at helping homeowners retrofit their homes and make them more energy efficient. Calgary will receive $15 million and will be able to set up a lending program for homeowners, who will repay the costs of retrofit projects on their property tax bills. The funding covers a variety of retrofits, including smart thermostats, insulation improvements, high-efficiency appliances, and more. Mayor Gondek says the details of the program are still being worked out.

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