Calgary Minute: COVID Controversy, LRT Delays, and Mayor Nenshi Wants To Dictate Prices

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

This Week In Calgary:

• This week is of course Christmas. Megan, Peter, and all our excellent volunteers would like to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and a happy holidays!
  
  
• Council's break has also started, meaning there are no Council or Committee meetings scheduled for this week. Council will likely return on January 12th for a Priorities and Finance Committee meeting, after the Calgary Planning Commission meeting scheduled for the 7th of January was cancelled.
  
  
• The City will be requesting confidential access to the provincial government's report into the Green Line LRT in order to "better understand ongoing disagreements" with the province. More on this below.

Last Week In Calgary:

• COVID-19 continued to cause much controversy, with Council extending the temporary mask bylaw until the end of 2021. Meanwhile, a 21-year-old was arrested for skating on an outdoor rink and police cracked down on protestors - situations Police have called untenable.
  
  
• The City has paused the current stage of the procurement process for the Green Line LRT amid the review being conducted by the province. While both the City and the province were blaming each other, we had heard rumours that the process was already behind schedule anyway making the announcement more political theatre than a new development. We have consistently said that Calgarians should decide the future of this project via a referendum of all residents, and now would be an excellent time for the province to decide that their funding will be contingent on one, as was done with any prospective provincial Olympics funding. If you haven't already, you can sign our petition calling for a referendum here.
  
  
• Mayor Nenshi asked the provincial government to cap the fees that food delivery apps charge restaurants, seemingly unaware that these apps have already dropped their fees significantly due to COVID. For many restaurants, these apps are literally the only thing keeping them alive right now. Yet our Mayor, who has no business experience, thinks he should dictate their prices?

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