Calgary Minute: Merry Christmas, Land Annexation, and Taxpayer Money To Quebec

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

This Week In Calgary:

• On Monday, the Nominations Committee will meet at 9:00 am to appoint two public members to the Calgary Transit Access Eligibility Appeal Board. These appointments will each be for two-year terms.

• Also on Monday, Council will hold its last meeting of the year - a Combined Meeting of Council at 9:30 am. Amongst many other things, Council will be debating whether to spend $100,000 on fighting Bill 21 in Quebec (see below) and a motion by Councillor Dan McLean to block a potential pay rise for Councillors. Council will also approve the City’s submission to the Province on the 2022-2023 provincial budget submission. The submission identifies six priorities, including a Downtown Strategy, support for a long-term transit strategy, and provincial infrastructure investments to support climate resilience.

• Finally, it is, of course, Christmas this Saturday! From Kristy, Laura, Peter and all of our team of volunteers here at Common Sense Calgary, we wish you a Merry Christmas. Thank you to every single one of our readers, donors, and everyone who said a kind word to us this year. We appreciate every single one of you and hope you have a holiday season filled with friends and family. Happy Holidays!

Last Week In Calgary:

• Major Jyoti Gondek announced that she wants to spend $100,000 of taxpayer money to fight Quebec’s Bill 21. The controversial Bill 21 bans public servants such as teachers, judges, and police officers from wearing religious symbols from any religion while on the job. While we at Common Sense Calgary agree that Bill 21 is bad, we also don’t think using Calgarians’ tax money to oppose legislation in another jurisdiction is justified. We’ve started a petition which already has almost 5,000 signatures - please add your name if you agree!
  
  
• Mayor Jyoti Gondek made it clear that she is still upset with the Calgary Police Service over rapid tests for COVID-19. Mayor Gondek first complained about the free tests CPS obtained from the Province a couple of weeks ago, calling it "unacceptable" that people who don’t "want to do anything" will be rewarded with free testing. Gondek claims the decision undermines the City’s stance on vaccines. Ironically, the Province is now providing free rapid tests to the general public as well.

• The future of a 1,676 hectare parcel of land between Glenmore Trail and the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline to the south is up for negotiation between the City of Calgary and Rocky View County. Calgary is looking to annex the land for future industrial growth. There will be a public consultation about the annexation of the land, which is currently being used for farming.

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