Media Advisory: City Enlisting Sex Offenders and Convicted Violent Criminals?

By Diane Colley-Urquhart on April 2016

[audio mp3="http://councillordiane.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Radio-Interview-with-Kingkade-Breakenridge-on-Mayor-Nenshis-Allegations.mp3"][/audio] CALGARY, AB – April 29, 2016 As Chair of the Standing Policy on Community and Protective Services, I along with six of my Council appointed colleagues provide governance oversight to Community Services which includes Calgary Community Standards, Calgary Emergency Management Agency, Calgary Fire Department, Calgary Housing, Calgary Neighbourhoods, Calgary Parks, and Calgary Recreation. Collectively, these service areas contribute to Calgarians’ wellbeing, safety and quality of life by providing sport, art, culture, leisure activities and parks; strong communities through social connectivity and good neighbour policies; and safety by providing reliable emergency and disaster response systems, and, Bylaw Services. Bylaw[...]

My Update on the SW Transitway Project

By Diane Colley-Urquhart on April 2016

[audio mp3="http://councillordiane.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20160418-122042.mp3"][/audio] Based on the feedback that I have heard over the past several months from my constituents, I am having increased concerns regarding the SW Transitway project. Above all, my biggest concern is the cost estimates of the project which was unanimously approved by Council over five years ago.  The approved budget was for $43M. We need to have transparency as to where the budget currently stands and I will ensure that I will seek that clarity on your behalf.  I am concerned that there has been a significant increase to this budget now that the detailed functional designs[...]

Good News for Calgary’s Flood Mitigation

By Diane Colley-Urquhart on October 2015

The City of Calgary has received good news in moving forward to protect Calgarians from future flooding. On Monday, Oct. 26, the Province announced a number of decisions concerning flood mitigation: The Springbank Off-stream Reservoir will go ahead. The Province, after considering various options, decided it is the most effective choice. The Springbank Off-stream reservoir, working in tandem with the Glenmore Reservoir, will provide protection against 2013-level flood volumes for communities in Calgary along the Elbow River. The City will receive dedicated funding of $150 million over 10 years through the Alberta Community Resilience Program to provide stable, long-term funding[...]

Medical Marihuana Counselling Centres

By Diane Colley-Urquhart on October 2015

Patients who require access to licensed commercially-grown medical marihuana may need counselling, advice on the types of products available, and assistance on the ordering of medical marihuana from licensed commercial producers. As a 45-year health care professional and Registered Nurse with expertise in the field of medical marihuana, I understand how critical it is that patients who are prescribed medical marihuana have all options and assistance made available to them. However, businesses which offer these counselling services need to look at rules to avoid clustering, proliferation and separation from schools in our communities. As there is currently no Land Use[...]

Colley-Urquhart: Don’t be so quick to dismiss CalgaryNEXT’s merits (with poll)

By Diane Colley-Urquhart on September 2015

Re: “No corporate welfare for CalgaryNEXT,” Paige MacPherson, Opinion, Sept. 9 Well — they do intend to pay for their “flashy arena desires” — not taxpayers! There were so many ill-founded politically expedient statements and assumptions in this piece that I felt compelled to respond. I did find an accurate one though — “Every use of public money is a choice made by our elected officials” — just as city council did in East Village 10 years ago by pioneering the first community reinvestment levy in Canada. We set up a separate corporate entity called the Calgary Municipal Land Corp. and told them to go to work.[...]