Calgary Minute: Cinema Sale, Summer Reopening, and Police Costs Rise

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

This Week In Calgary:

• It's another packed week at City Hall, starting with a meeting of the Foothills Athletic Park Redevelopment Advisory Committee today at 9:30 am.
  
  
• There will be a Special Meeting of Council at 9:30 am on Tuesday to hold AGMs for various City-owned Subsidiaries, and a Standing Policy Committee on Transportation & Transit at 9:30 am on Wednesday.
  
  
• There will also be a meeting of the Calgary Planning Commission at 1:00 pm on Thursday and a Green Line Board meeting at 1:00 pm on Friday.

Last Week In Calgary:

• A breath of fresh air and a sigh of relief for residents and small business owners as Alberta moved to Stage 2 last Thursday. Under Stage 2, outdoor gatherings of up to 20 people are now permitted and outdoor concerts and festivals can welcome as many as 150 people. Indoor gatherings are still prohibited, but capacity limits on funerals and weddings have increased to 20 people. Gyms and fitness studios can reopen for solo and drop-in activities so long as social distance requirements are met. Restaurants can now offer indoor dining with restrictions, while casinos, museums, and libraries can also reopen.
  
  
• Leave it to City Council to come up with new and innovative ideas to flush piles of your money down the drain. Did you know the City owns a film production centre? Seriously, what justifications could there be for a government to take taxes from businesses and residents to operate a film centre? Considering how many small businesses have either had to shut down or draw on their personal savings to stay afloat, what better time than now to sell this business and get City Hall back focused on core priorities.
  
  
• Calgary Police Chief, Mark Neufeld, said that the Calgary Police Service had absorbed $12-million in unexpected costs last year. According to Chief Neufeld, the shortfall was due to lower than expected fine revenues, extra personal protective equipment, and increased sick days. Notably, homicides were also up from 20 in 2019 to 34 in 2020, though Neufeld said that 2020 will be an anomaly.

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