Nenshi bristles at Tory ‘insults’
Claims rural neighbours are being favoured
Mayor Naheed Nenshi, bristling after a minister called him a politicking “peacock,” accused the province of favouring its rural neighbours over the city it was supposed to empower.
Nenshi formerly had high hopes of gaining new clout for Calgary in charter talks with the government of Premier Alison Redford, a fellow Calgarian.
But he’s fretted lately that the charter talks are flagging and the door has closed on his wish for civic revenuegenerating powers.
Even news that Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths will hire a mediator to try bringing counties back onside with the regional growth plan drew the mayor’s skepticism.
“I’m not sure that a new government-appointed mediator is really going to make any difference, given that the government has already signalled that they will give the rural municipalities whatever they want,” Nenshi said.
His words came hours after a Herald report came out — in response to the mayor’s own sharply worded Herald column — that quoted Griffiths saying that with a civic election coming, Nenshi was going to “puff up like a peacock and be tough.”
The mayor replied with more criticism.
“Rather than concern, on a file that he is mishandling, what we get is personal insults,” Nenshi told reporters Monday. The mayor also beefed that he wasn’t invited to last weekend’s Alberta economic summit.
Although the mayor insisted city-province relations remain strong, this is proving to become the biggest hissing match between the two since 2007 — another election year—when-then-mayor-Dave Bronconnier feuded with the Stelmach Tories over a massive provincial grant program. Both Griffiths and Nenshi complain the other isn’t picking up or answering the phone. Nenshi and the premier are supposed to meet later this month, the mayor said.
At stake in this feud is the provincial mandate for Calgary and surrounding municipalities to combine on the Calgary
For my part, I’m committed to making this process work.” TRUPER MCBRIDE
Metropolitan Plan, which conserves water and concentrates residential, commercial and industrial growth in certain areas. Calgary, which secured licence to draw enough Bow River water for three million people before water draws were capped, is willing to provide water service to neighbours — but only if they sign onto the plan, and only developments with densities that rival Calgary’s new suburbs.
The counties of Rocky View, Wheatland and Foothills have refused to agree to the density targets, and have withdrawn from the Calgary Regional Partnership.
“You have a bunch of urbanstyle development people trying to bring the rural in,” said Rocky View Reeve Rolly Ashdown. He’s willing to sit down with a mediator, but said his rural council won’t introduce a plan that effectively requires apartment-style housing in areas used to acreages and farms.
The mayor wants the province to force the counties into the plan through legislation, something a premier’s spokesman said Redford does not wish to do. Rocky View had asked for a city water tie-in for a new CN Rail yard going up in just outside northeast Calgary, but instead will have to bring in water from an irrigation district, at greater cost.
The Tory-friendly chair of the partnership group sees promise in the proposed mediator the province will hire. “For my part, I’m committed to making this process work and happy to now have the province at the table and supporting the process,” said Cochrane Mayor Truper McBride, who vied for a Tory nomination in the last election.
Two years ago, council voted to create a subsidiary to handle regional water and wastewater servicing. Alberta Municipal Affairs confirmed Monday that it’s rejected the utility corporation as proposed.
“There were a number of conditions placed on it that were impossible for the city to meet,” Nenshi said.