Calgary police, fire, emergency responders look for more municipal funding to keep up services
Calgary council heard from the city's protective services departments during budget talks Monday, all saying they need more money to keep up with rising demands.
Dispatchers at 911 are projected to take about one million calls in the city in 2023, and are asking for money to hire another 77 operators.
Without the increased staff, dispatch says wait times for service will increase.
Calgary Fire Department says with high loads on EMS and Alberta Health Services, firefighters are increasingly being sent to medical calls and have asked for a total increase of $73.8 million to hire 184 firefighters and bring back the downtown medical response unit.
Calgary police are also looking for more money – a budget increase of $34 million to hire 154 staff, including 110 officers.
Bylaw services is also looking to add nine more peace offcers to improve safety on Calgary Transit.
Altogether, there was $220 million in capital budget requests for protective services in the cycle, which will end in 2026.
Among the relatively small asks to council on Monday was a $2-million request from Tourism Calgary to build a sales team ahead of the opening of the BMO Centre.
The new convention space will have double the capacity of the old facility and Tourism Calgary says the bump in funding promises to bring an estimated $70 million in economic benefit to the city.
The city’s total annual budget is expected to reach $4.9 billion by 2026.
Administration is recommending a residential property tax increase of 4.4 per cent in 2023 and an average increase of 3.7 per cent each year through 2026.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada tracked suspected Chinese spy balloon over Canadian airspace since last weekend: sources
The suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that was found floating over sensitive military sites in the western United States had been tracked by Canada's government since last weekend as it passed through Canadian airspace, sources tell CTV News.
Oldest preserved vertebrate brain found in 319-million-year-old fish fossil
The oldest preserved vertebrate brain has been found in a 319-million-year-old fossilized fish skull that was removed from an English coal mine over a century ago.
Former NHL-er Ted Nolan among Indigenous players honoured in new hockey card series
It took 40 years, but former NHL player and coach Ted Nolan is now one of eight Indigenous ex-NHL-ers being honoured hockey trading cards as a part of Upper Deck's First Peoples Rookie Card series.
B.C. man who was mistaken for target, shot by police in 2013 has lawsuit dismissed
A B.C. man who was mistaken for the target in a police takedown and shot by an officer in 2013 has had his lawsuit alleging negligence dismissed.
Bodies are those of 3 rappers missing nearly 2 weeks: Detroit police
Three bodies found in a vacant Detroit-area apartment building have been identified as those of three aspiring rappers who went missing nearly two weeks ago, police said Friday.
Maid's son tells judge Alex Murdaugh took US$4M for her death
For much of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial, witnesses have talked about a generous and loving man -- but prosecutors want jurors to know that same man stole over US$4 million from his housekeeper's relatives after she died at work, and killed his wife and son to cover up his crimes.
Japanese prime minister's aide leaving over LGBTQ2S+ remarks
A senior aide to Japan's prime minister is being dismissed after making discriminatory remarks about LGBTQ2S+ people.
Jury: Musk didn't defraud investors with 2018 Tesla tweets
A jury on Friday decided Elon Musk didn't deceive investors with his 2018 tweets about electric automaker Tesla.
Stars disappearing before our eyes faster than ever: report
A new research from a citizen science program suggests that stars are disappearing before our eyes at an 'astonishing rate.'
Edmonton
-
City crews plow northeast Edmonton neighbourhood 5 days after driver ticketed
An Edmonton man who received a ticket from the city under the phase 2 residential parking ban earlier this week says his street has finally been plowed — five days after his vehicle was ticketed.
-
'Black success': Melisizwe Brothers play Edmonton school tour for Black History Month
Marc, Seth and Zacary James are the Melisizwe Brothers, and they performed at Jasper Place High School on Friday as part of Edmonton Public School Black History Month celebrations.
-
New MRI-radiation hybrid machine in Alberta expected to improve cancer treatment by at least 20 per cent
Technology in Alberta that is expected to allow doctors to more accurately and effectively treat cancerous tumours with radiation enters clinical trials next week.
Vancouver
-
Tri-Cities mayors concerned about new YVR arrivals flight path over their communities
The mayors of Port Coquitlam and Port Moody want Nav Canada — the organization that creates flight paths for airports across the country — to pause its plans for a new YVR arrivals route that will direct many large airplanes over their communities.
-
'Just absolute scum of the earth': Family upset after senior with dementia defrauded by someone posing as care worker
Seventy-nine-year-old William Herbert thought the woman coming to see him was a nurse who needed to do bloodwork. But instead of helping him, it’s alleged she stole from him.
-
Fatal shooting of Burnaby teen may be connected to Surrey vehicle fire: IHIT
Homicide investigators are looking into whether a vehicle fire in Surrey on Thursday morning is connected to the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy in Burnaby hours later.
Atlantic
-
Blizzard warning and snow squall watches issued as bitter cold arrives in Maritimes
Temperatures are plummeting across the Maritimes as a blast of Arctic air moves into the region.
-
Seafood processing plant in N.B. destroyed following explosion, fire; 2 workers injured
A seafood processing plant in Portage, N.B., has been completely destroyed following a major fire Friday afternoon.
-
Potential winner of $31 million Lotto Max Draw comes forward: Atlantic Lottery
Atlantic Lottery says it has been contacted by a player who believes they have the winning ticket to this week's $31 million Lotto Max Draw.
Vancouver Island
-
Vancouver Island doctor calls for resignation of Island Health leader amid health-care 'crisis'
An emergency room doctor on Vancouver Island is calling on the leadership of the health authority to resign, saying harassment by Island Health officials is prompting doctors to abandon the region amid a critical shortage of health-care workers.
-
Local state of emergency lifted in Campbell River weeks after landslide
A local state of emergency that was issued in Campbell River, B.C., following a landslide in mid-January has been lifted, the city announced Friday.
-
Man charged with second-degree murder after stabbing in Nanaimo, B.C.
A man accused of fatally stabbing another man outside a busy mall in Nanaimo, B.C., has been charged with second-degree murder, according to the Nanaimo RCMP.
Toronto
-
Speed cameras clocked a car driving 70 km/h over the limit. Here's how the owner fought the ticket and won
After being charged with speeding by a city-operated photo radar device, a Toronto family was able to successfully fight the charge in court largely due to one small detail.
-
Police identify man wanted for manslaughter charge in death of former CBC journalist
The death of a longtime CBC journalist who was shoved to the ground in Toronto has now been classified as a homicide and police have issued an arrest warrant for a suspect in the case.
-
Stabbing in downtown Toronto sends one to hospital
Police are investigating a stabbing in downtown Toronto Friday night.
Montreal
-
Quebecers break record for electricity demand as cold snap continues
The ongoing cold snap has Quebecers cranking up the heat in their homes, which Hydro-Quebe says has caused a record peak in electricity demand. In a Tweet Friday, the hydroelectricity supplier said that around 5:30 p.m., demand across the province reached 42,700 megawatts.
-
Montreal billionaire steps down from Future Electronics after allegations involving teenage girls
A reclusive billionaire who headed a Montreal tech company is stepping down one day after Radio-Canada/CBC published a report that alleged he paid teenage girls for sex for more than a decade.
-
5-alarm fire in east Montreal evicts 20 families, injures 2 police officers
The Montreal fire department is advising people to avoid Sherbrooke Street East at Carignan Avenue in the Longue Pointe neighbourhood as a five-alarm fire is burning.
Ottawa
-
NEW THIS MORNING
NEW THIS MORNING | This was Ottawa's busiest photo radar camera in 2022
The 17 automated speed enforcement cameras set up in school zones across the city of Ottawa issued a total of 127,939 speeding tickets in 2022.
-
NEW THIS MORNING
NEW THIS MORNING | Winterlude's outdoor activities resume today after an extremely cold start to the festival
Canadian Heritage says Winterlude's outdoor activities will resume in Ottawa and Gatineau on Saturday, one day after the extreme cold weather cancelled all outdoor events.
-
Federal department fires 49 employees for claiming CERB while employed
A federal government department has fired 49 employees who received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit while they were employed.
Kitchener
-
Three facing charges in Conestoga Mall robbery, one suspect fled in stolen vehicle
Police say they’ve arrested three people and one person was taken to hospital following an armed robbery at Conestoga Mall on Thursday.
-
OPP charge truck driver after flying ice hits vehicle on Highway 401
Ontario Provincial Police are once again reminding drivers to clear the snow and ice off of their vehicles before they head out onto the road.
-
WRPS release security images after string of store robberies in Kitchener
Waterloo regional police issued a robbery warning Thursday evening after they said two convenience stores and a restaurant in Kitchener were robbed within a 30 minute span.
Saskatoon
-
Sask. mine recruiting hundreds of workers
BHP is moving forward with its plans to build the world's largest potash mine.
-
'It’s just a miracle': Saskatoon woman finds kidney donor after advertising search on her car
After months of driving around the city with an advertisement for a kidney donor on her bright red car, Debbie Onishenko will soon be able to rip off the decals as her search has ended.
-
'This makes it harder': Dundurn, Sask. firefighter loses home in fire
The community of Dundurn is rallying behind a firefighter who lost her home in a fire.
Northern Ontario
-
First-year university student from northern Ontario wins $48M in lottery, making history
Canada's newest millionaire, an 18-year-old university freshman from northern Ontario, has achieved a lot of firsts with a recent lottery win. Here is her story.
-
Highway 400 closure in effect north of Toronto due to 'extreme winter weather'
Ontario Provincial Police have closed a portion of Highway 400 north of Toronto following multiple collisions due to whiteout conditions.
-
Four Americans, two Canadians fined $50K for illegal moose hunting in northern Ont.
An investigation that lasted almost two years has resulted in moose hunting violation convictions for six people and a lodge in Red Lake in northwestern Ontario.
Winnipeg
-
Winnipeg police share unreleased image of missing woman in renewed call for answers
Winnipeg police released a new image of a 31-year-old woman who has been missing since early last year on Friday in the hope it may generate new information on her whereabouts.
-
'A big blow to everyone': Fire destroys Winkler shop
A fire destroyed a popular paint and hobby shop in Winkler Thursday afternoon with black smoke prompting Winkler police to close off a stretch of Highway 32 for more than an hour.
-
Manitoba Metis Federation citizenship cards can now be used at liquor stores
Manitoba has expanded the types of identification acceptable for use to purchase liquor, cannabis and lottery tickets in the province.
Regina
-
'Small Victory': Sask. reacts to liberal gun amendment removal
Saskatchewan is reacting to the removal of controversial amendment G4 to Bill C-21 by the federal Liberals, which banned certain semi-automatic rifles and shotguns.
-
Regina water main break leaves behind 'dangerous' ice build-up
Residents in Regina's North Central community are voicing safety concerns after a water main break resulted in icy sidewalk and road conditions.
-
'A sense of home': The Comeback Society to expand Indigenous cultural programs in new space
A local non-profit is hoping a new office space can help reconnect Indigenous youth to their culture.