Bell: Calgary mayor's race, when will we see somebody show some guts?
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This week Dreeshen, Premier Danielle Smith's point man on transportation, got Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek to give some ground on bike lanes.
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This week, Dan Williams, Smith's municipal affairs minister, read the riot act to Calgary city council, among others, telling them to do their job or the province would step in while giving us a clear picture of the ideology infecting city government.
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I know. I know.
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They will say just hang in there for a few more weeks. Just you wait and see.
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The fireworks will come out after Labour Day and it will be something to behold.
There will promises of change, change, change! Just let this person or that person have the keys to the office and you'll see some how Calgary city hall will dance to a different tune.
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We've seen that movie. It usually does not end well. Hearts are broken. We cannot afford four more years of politicians breaking our hearts.
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All of those who want to be the mayor after the October election have to get busy and I don't mean by hanging out with their elite and often elitist backers.
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He needs to tell us what that really means and how he can reach out to his old voters when his team includes people who those voters from the past, and this scribbler, would see as part of the problem and not part of the solution.
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There is the candidate who was on city council when Naheed Nenshi was the mayor and pardon me if I don't remember him as a kick-ass guy talking on the city hall establishment.
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There is the candidate who worked for many years at city hall among paper shufflers who were just following orders.
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Calgary Herald
16 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Bell: Calgary mayor's race, when will we see somebody show some guts?
It's pretty bad when UCP cabinet ministers like Devin Dreeshen and Dan Williams are the ones making the bigshots at Calgary city hall squirm. Article content This week Dreeshen, Premier Danielle Smith's point man on transportation, got Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek to give some ground on bike lanes. Article content Article content This week, Dan Williams, Smith's municipal affairs minister, read the riot act to Calgary city council, among others, telling them to do their job or the province would step in while giving us a clear picture of the ideology infecting city government. Article content Article content I know. I know. Article content Article content They will say just hang in there for a few more weeks. Just you wait and see. Article content The fireworks will come out after Labour Day and it will be something to behold. There will promises of change, change, change! Just let this person or that person have the keys to the office and you'll see some how Calgary city hall will dance to a different tune. Article content We've seen that movie. It usually does not end well. Hearts are broken. We cannot afford four more years of politicians breaking our hearts. Article content All of those who want to be the mayor after the October election have to get busy and I don't mean by hanging out with their elite and often elitist backers. Article content He needs to tell us what that really means and how he can reach out to his old voters when his team includes people who those voters from the past, and this scribbler, would see as part of the problem and not part of the solution. Article content There is the candidate who was on city council when Naheed Nenshi was the mayor and pardon me if I don't remember him as a kick-ass guy talking on the city hall establishment. Article content Article content There is the candidate who worked for many years at city hall among paper shufflers who were just following orders.
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
Edmonton bike advocates celebrate Ontario court ruling as province mulls similar legislation
The Alberta government says it is looking to Ontario to see how to impact where bike lanes are placed — but bike advocates in Edmonton are hoping the province will reconsider its stance. An Ontario court deemed that province's plan to remove three major Toronto bike lanes unconstitutional. A decision the Ontario government says it will appeal. In Alberta, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen says the province is mulling over similar legislation, that could impact where Edmontonians see bike lanes in the city. "I want to make sure that both the city of Edmonton and Calgary are co-ordinated with the provincial government when it comes to our road networks," Dreeshen told CBC Calgary on Wednesday. "Obviously, hundreds of millions of dollars goes into road projects in Edmonton and Calgary to make sure that we can add more lanes to make life that much better for people living in the province, as well as for new people coming into the province." The province has previously raised concerns with the City of Edmonton about the planning of bike lanes, including the 132nd Avenue redesign that proposes lane reductions on key commuter corridors. But some bike advocates like Keith Esslinger with Bike Edmonton say they want the province to stay in their lane and are encouraged by the court decision in Ontario. "We're actually pleasantly surprised that the court has decided that the actions of the Ontario government were not correct and were worth stopping," Esslinger told CBC. "We've been in contact with Bike Toronto and Bike Calgary, ever since Minister Dreeshen started this whole kerfuffle, and so we were appraised of the work they were doing. And I think in our heart of hearts, we were hopeful that it would go this way, but we weren't necessarily expecting it." Dreeshen said the Ontario court's decision will not dissuade the Alberta government. "The advantage of going second is something that we can see that piece of legislation in Ontario. What are some improvements that we would make here in Alberta? So we're still just in that early stages to figure out what exactly that legislation would look like." Dreeshen said he is open to meeting with Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi in the coming months to ensure the city and province is aligned on maintaining Alberta's road capacity. "We are also encouraging cities to pursue alternatives like designated bike routes and off-street pathways that don't reduce lanes on major roads," Dreeshen said. Edmonton city council approved $100 million in funding as part of the 2023-2026 Capital Budget for active transportation network expansion, which focuses on adding new routes to complete missing links in the network. "The city is connecting with the provincial government in various ways, including data sharing and responding to inquiries," said Natalie Lazurko, with the City of Edmonton's transportation planning and design team, in a statement to CBC. "We will continue to work collaboratively with our provincial partners while we move forward as planned with the design and construction of new routes to connect and expand the network in our community." Through the Active Transportation Network Expansion Program, 32 new connections are underway at various stages, contributing to about 40 kilometres of new network connections, Lazurko said. Construction of these new connections began in spring 2024 and is anticipated to be open for use by the end of the 2025 construction season. Additional locations for further network expansion are in design now in preparation for construction starting in spring 2026, Lazurko said.
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Provincial police proposal brings about quarrel and questions
Alberta's Official Opposition would see the United Conservative Party's pitch for a provincial police force cuffed and locked away. NDP Justice Critic Irfan Sabir said the proposed plan isn't a 'blueprint,' but rather a 'boondoggle.' 'The UCP will spend hundreds of millions of dollars just to set up a new police force when what Albertans want is better policing focused on addressing crime and its root causes. That's what I hear in Calgary, where Albertans are concerned about the rise in gun violence,' Sabir said Tuesday, shortly after details of the proposed plan were made public. Justice Minister Tyler Shandro spoke Tuesday to the government's idea of an Alberta Provincial Police Service, which would see, among other moves, sworn officers currently working in administrative positions at larger detachments redeployed to front-line roles in rural and remote communities to bolster the numbers of active officers in those areas. The move would see the province do away with the RCMP — a move Sabir does not believe Albertans want. 'Alberta can invest in better policing without blowing up the RCMP. Also, the UCP should not be able to dismantle the RCMP while under investigation by the RCMP,' Sabir said. 'No one is asking for this and the UCP needs to start listening.' Likewise, Alberta Municipalities took aim at the UCP push for provincial policing on Tuesday, releasing a statement of its own to communicate its concerns. 'We do not believe enough consultation and engagement occurred between the Government of Alberta, local governments and key stakeholders like us,' the statement read. Alberta Municipalities said it will look at the government's report to see if principles found there align with its own, which it said include police governance and oversight, police service levels and policing costs. 'Fundamentally, we believe the creation of an Alberta provincial police service should be driven by the real public safety needs of the communities it will serve, rather than by political motivations,' the statement read. COMMUNITIES CHIME IN There are also those in southern Alberta who are on the fence, but have questions about the proposal. The mayor of Brooks, John Petrie, said his city spoke with Shandro prior to Tuesday's announcement. 'But I don't think they could break down on dollar-wise what it would be to the local community here,' he said. A report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers said the initial cost of the plan would be roughly $366 million, followed by an annual cost of roughly $734 million, although it's not clear how much of that price tag would fall on the communities these detachments would be in. Taber's mayor, Andrew Prokop, said he hasn't decided if he'd prefer a new provincial police force, or to continue with the RCMP. 'There are many questions that are not completely answered, and more work to be done in the practicality of all areas,' he said. 'I'm not saying yea or nay to either side, per se, but I'm looking at both aspects of the possibility.' RCMP RESPONDS TO REPORT For the RCMP's part, Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki, commanding officer of the Alberta RCMP, said the details found in the UCP's proposed plan aren't dissimilar from the Mounties' own goals. 'The Alberta RCMP is future-focused and flexible, changing as the safety and security needs of Albertans change,' Zablocki said in a statement issued Tuesday. 'Modernizing our force, leveraging technology and finding new ways of delivering our services more efficiently, combined with collaboration and input from our partners on all levels, drives how we adapt to the needs of the citizens we serve, and respond to modern-day threats and social factors within the province.' Zablocki pointed to the Community and Well-being Branch, stood up earlier in the year, as one example of the federal police force's evolution within Alberta. Zablocki also said the RCMP has always been willing to work with the provincial government, which sets its budget and has oversight over its priority-setting. 'Open communication and consultations with community leaders; county and municipal governments; chiefs and councils; the Alberta Municipalities Association; the Rural Municipalities of Alberta Association; the Interim Police Advisory Board and Albertans have positioned the Alberta RCMP to continue responding and evolving as a police service,' he said. 'I am grateful for our continued ability to collaborate and work together to address the needs of communities and citizens.' — With files from Quinn Keenan
