Calgary city council unveiled several spending priorities as it made adjustments to the current four-year budget cycle this week.
According to calculations by Global News, the adjustment includes more than $172 million in new spending across several departments within city hall.
“We are not a government that makes promises and doesn’t deliver,” Mayor Jyoti Gondek said following the budget vote Wednesday night. “We are a government that has a very clear mandate and understands what needs to be done, and we put the power of our budget behind it.”
The adjustments to the 2022 budget included $15 million in funding to begin work on erecting a permanent memorial to recognize the victims and survivors of Canada’s residential school system. The money will also cover securing land for an Indigenous gathering centre.
“We don’t just need a short-term, one-time investment in some of these things. We need multi-year investments and multi-year strategies to make sure that we’re not in the same situation every year,” Vibrant Communities Calgary executive director Meaghon Reid said. “I was pleased to hear that kind of conversation happening around council table.”
