Calgary Minute: Unavailable Information, Staff Shakeup, and Consumption Site Stays

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

This Week In Calgary:

• There will be a City Council Meeting on Tuesday at 9:30 am, specifically devoted to Mid-Cycle Adjustments to 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budgets. In plain language, this means Council will be discussing potential spending and tax increases (or spending and tax cuts - we can dream!) that may be implemented for next year.
  
  
• On Wednesday, at 9:30 am, the Infrastructure and Planning Committee will meet. The Committee will discuss shifting to online advertising for road closures, rather than continuing to post them in the Calgary Herald. The Committee will also discuss the Westbrook Communities Local Area Plan Heritage Guidelines. The Calgary Planning Commission will meet on Thursday at 1:00 pm. No agenda is available for this meeting yet.
  
  
• The CEO of Calgary's Green Line LRT project, Darshpreet Bhatti, is stepping down from his position as the City winds down the initiative. The Province has agreed to preserve some of the ongoing work, and the City will now transition the project into a new City Department under Chief Operating Officer Stuart Dalgleish. Speaking of departures, the City also announced the departure of its Chief Financial Officer Carla Male and Corporate Planning Director Chris Stewart, just before budget adjustment deliberations begin. Chief Administrative Officer David Duckworth informed staff of the changes, noting that both Male and Stewart had completed their last day with the City. While no specific reasons were given for their dismissals, Duckworth mentioned a shift in direction for the corporate planning and financial services department.

Last Week In Calgary:

• Council decided against taking a stance on the future of the Sheldon Chumir supervised consumption site. After a heated debate, Council voted against a Notice of Motion proposed by Councillor Dan McLean, which sought support for calling on the Province to close the facility due to concerns over social disorder and safety. Council modified the motion to remove the reference to closure, and to request that the Province provide data and conduct comprehensive consultations before making decisions regarding the site. Ultimately, the amended motion was defeated in a 9-5 vote, with Councillors Gian-Carlo Carra, Richard Pootmans, Evan Spencer, Jasmine Mian, and Sean Chu voting for it, while Councillors Dan McLean, Courtney Walcott, Jennifer Wyness, Raj Dhaliwal, Kourtney Penner, Terry Wong, Sonya Sharp, and Andre Chabot, as well as Mayor Jyoti Gondek, voted against it. Gondek said that the debate shouldn’t even have taken place, maintaining that the site falls under provincial jurisdiction.
  
  
• Council debated a request from the Calgary Police Commission to allocate $13 million from the Community Safety Investment Framework (CSIF) to finance a new indoor firearms range. The Police Commission argued that the outdated existing range has health and safety issues, limiting officers' training time and overall operational effectiveness. Some Councillors expressed concerns that diverting CSIF funds for this purpose was an inappropriate use of resources, suggesting that money should be allocated to social services instead. Ultimately, Council voted 8-6 in favour of a motion to request a detailed report on CSIF funding.
  
  
• Mayor Jyoti Gondek expressed frustration with City Administration for failing to provide updates on the Bearspaw south feeder main. Council had expected new information by the end of October, but it is now delayed until December. Gondek criticized Administration's lack of communication and transparency. As the City prepares for budget discussions, Council - and Calgarians - are waiting to get a better understanding of the causes of the pipeline failure and how it might inform future infrastructure spending.

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