Calgary Minute: Red Alerts, Transit Fees, and Airport Restriction Confusion

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

This Week In Calgary:

• There will be a Strategic Meeting of Council this morning at 9:30 am. On the agenda is step one of Council’s strategic direction for the next fiscal cycle (2023-2026).

• The Executive Committee meets at 9:30 am on Tuesday. There are plenty of items on the agenda including a notice of motion to mitigate on-street racing and an update on the Real Estate Working Group. The Committee will also receive a report from Calgary Economic Development on the LearningCITY Community Pilot.

• At the Executive Committee Meeting, there will be an update on the Indigenous relations governance model engagement. Furthering Indigenous engagement is intended to reaffirm Treaty relationships and commit to Truth and Reconciliation. It is being recommended that the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee work closely with the Indigenous Relations Office to strengthen leadership-to-leadership relations between City’s elected officials and the political and cultural leaders of the Treaty 7 Nations, Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3, and the Calgary Urban Indigenous Community.

Last Week In Calgary:

• Last Saturday, there were four EMS red alerts in Calgary, meaning there were four times when simply no ambulances were available to respond to emergencies. Neighbouring jurisdictions like Banff - and 12 other municipalities - had to dispatch their ambulances to help out. This isn’t the first time an issue like this has happened in Calgary - there were 53 occurrences over 22 days in November. AHS says they have added staff, have created more job postings, and are offering overtime to those who want it.
  
  
• Calgary International Airport was busy over the weekend and there was no shortage of confusion about new COVID-19 rules introduced by both the US and Canada. Many travellers returning to Canada must now take a test, even if vaccinated, while the US requires travellers to take a rapid test within one day of travel, rather than three.

• After Council froze transit fares for 2021, they are set to increase on January 1st, 2022. Adult day passes are going up 25 cents, while monthly passes increase by $3. Youth passes are also impacted by the increase, as are senior and low-income passes. Calgary Transit says higher fees are needed to cover increased costs and growing service demand. Guess they hope no one remembers that time they decreased service…

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