Calgary Minute: Remembrance Day, Committee Changes, and Peace Bridge Repairs

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

This Week In Calgary:

• There will be a Regular Meeting of City Council on Tuesday at 9:30 am. On the agenda is the 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budgets report. The report is not yet available. The City’s website notes that it will be distributed at a later date, meaning it will likely be made public during the meeting.
  
  
• The Intergovernmental Affairs Committee meets on Wednesday at 9:30 am. On the agenda are updates from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Calgary Metropolitan Region Board, among others.
  
  
• There are many Remembrance Day ceremonies taking place in the city on Friday. The Royal Canadian Legion will hold an indoor Remembrance Day ceremony at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Doors open at 9:30 am. The Military Museums will also have a service. It begins at 10:00 am and will remain open for visitors by donation after the event. The team at Common Sense Calgary would like to express our heartfelt thanks to those who have served or are currently serving.

Last Week In Calgary:

• There were several changes to City Committees, Commissions, and Boards. Ward 13 Councillor Dan McLean stepped away from his positions after making inappropriate comments. Ward 9 Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra resigned from the Calgary Police Commission due to an ongoing investigation. This follows the recent resignation of Courtney Walcott from the Police Commission, and Sean Chu’s reinstatement to a Council Committee.
  
  
• An alleged plot to paint former Mayor Naheed Nenshi as corrupt was uncovered. Apparently, a plan - known as Operation Peacock - was hatched to get dirt on Nenshi by convincing him to take money from a fake Russian oligarch. While we certainly had robust policy disagreements with Nenshi over policy, it was never even a question for us that he was corrupt. The issue has now been referred to the police for investigation.
  
  
• The City decided on a plan to repair the Peace Bridge. The glass will be replaced with steel tension cables in an effort to cut costs and curb vandalism. In July, seventy of the glass panels were smashed, causing $1 million in damages. Historically, approximately six panels have been broken each year and the annual maintenance cost has been around $80,000, exclusive of the cost of the glass itself. Construction is expected to start in the spring.

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