Calgary Minute: Emergencies Act, Free Admission, and Mask Mandate Repealed

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

This Week In Calgary:

• On Tuesday, the Executive Committee will meet at 9:30 am. A funding request for the Clean Energy Improvement Program is amongst the items to be discussed. There is also a Notice of Motion to remedy the legal use of non-conforming semi-detached homes.
  
  
• The Emergency Management Committee is meeting at 9:30 am on Wednesday. No agenda had been posted at the time of writing.
  
  
• On Thursday, the Calgary Planning Commission will meet at 1:00 pm. Several land use amendments are on the agenda.
  
  

Last Week In Calgary:

• After a lengthy debate, Calgary City Council opted to align its face covering bylaw with the provincial mask mandate. This means that, on March 1st, as long as the Province follows through on its promise to end the mask mandate, face coverings will no longer be required in Calgary. Council considered extending the City’s mandate until March 31st, but ultimately the vote was 7-8 against doing so. Councillors Carra, Mian, Dhaliwal, Penner, Pootmans, and Wyness, along with Mayor Gondek, were the seven who wanted the mandate extended.
  
  
• After a $35 million donation from the Shaw Family Foundation, the Glenbow Museum will be offering free admission in perpetuity, becoming one of the first major Canadian museums to do so. The Glenbow is currently closed for multi-million dollar upgrades but will re-open, sans admission fees, in 2024.
  
  
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a massive act of government overreach, invoked the Emergencies Act in order to deal with border blockades and a demonstration against COVID-19 mandates in downtown Ottawa. While the protest has certainly disrupted the lives of those who reside in downtown Ottawa, the Emergencies Act was an extreme response. This marked the first time in history the Act has been invoked. Its predecessor, the War Measures Act, was used by Pierre Elliott Trudeau to deal with the FLQ crisis after over 200 bombs had been set off and the Deputy Premier of Quebec had been kidnapped and murdered.

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