Calgary Minute: More Crime, Provincial Funding, and Group Transit Passes

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

This Week In Calgary:

• There will be a meeting of the Council Services Committee this afternoon at 1:30 pm. On the agenda are the 2024-2026 Ward Budget and a review of the Ward Community Event Fund applications.
  
  
• The Executive Committee will meet on Tuesday at 9:30 am. The Committee will discuss an annual progress update to the White Goose Flying Report - a collection of 43 calls to action that arose from the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s report. The Committee will recommend establishing an annual Regular Council Meeting with an Indigenous focus during the month of September, starting in 2024. Councillor Demong will bring forward a Notice of Motion directing Administration to look into reinvesting on-street parking revenue into street services like street light upgrades and pavement rehabilitation.
  
  
• On Wednesday, at 8:30 am, the Audit Committee will meet to discuss the External Auditor 2022 Year-End Report, the 2022 Annual Financial Report, and the 2022 Annual Investment Report. Also on Wednesday, the Business Advisory Committee will meet at 1:00 pm. The agenda is lean, but the Committee will discuss a report on streamlining change of use bylaws. The Calgary Planning Commission will meet on Thursday at 1:00 pm. On the agenda are several land use amendments.

Last Week In Calgary:

• The Province announced a $5 million commitment over three years to help with Calgary’s rising crime and social disorder. The money will be allocated to recovery-oriented care for those in police custody, as well as supporting harm-reduction and recovery outreach teams. The HELP team (formerly the DOAP team) will expand its Beltline operations and extend coverage from midnight to 8:00 am, seven days a week. A specialized health team will also be embedded with the Calgary Police Service to help connect people detained under a public intoxication charge with the appropriate support.
  
  
• Speaking of crime and disorder, there were more violent incidents on Calgary transit. An altercation on a moving bus ended with gunshots, a stabbing took place on another bus near the Rundle LRT station, and an assault was reported at the Martindale LRT station. And those were just the transit crimes - a shooting took place in Kensington, and a stabbing occurred at Sunridge Mall. Police Chief Mark Neufeld tried to reassure Calgarians that the city is still a safe place to live and work. We're still running a petition to have Council declare a transit emergency. More than 3,600 Calgarians have already signed. If you haven't added your name yet, you can do so by clicking here.
  
  
• Calgary Transit launched a new group day pass. Intended for families who don’t use transit regularly, the pass can be purchased using the MyFare app, the Transit app, or ticket vending machines at CTrain stations. It costs $15 and is good for unlimited travel on a weekend day for groups of up to five people, including up to two adults.

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