Protest over loss of large-scale Canada Day fireworks show in Calgary grows
A petition, created in response to a city planning committee's decision to cancel a large-scale fireworks show on Canada Day in Calgary, is gaining momentum.
The online call, created by Common Sense Calgary, already has more than 6,000 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.
It was made in response to an announcement from the City of Calgary, which said it would not hold a large-scale fireworks show on July 1.
Last week, the city said it considered a number of factors in making the decision, including environmental, cultural and social impacts on Calgarians.
On Tuesday, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said those plans also carefully considered a number of concerns residents had about noise, crowds and traffic congestion.
"Also to recognize the fact that it's the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act and there's Truth and Reconciliation commitments."
She says anyone who is upset over the fact there won't be any fireworks is mistaken.
"To balance everyone's needs, the team is putting on a great event, which includes pyrotechnics from the stage, so there is that opportunity."
Other Calgary councillors don't agree with the decision from the arts and culture committee.
"My inbox has been flooded with people that are not happy with the decision and I agree. I enjoy Canada Day and I enjoy the fireworks celebrations that happen afterwards," Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean said.
"I regret that – I think there should have been a more fulsome engagement and, again, I've had residents call me, very upset."
McLean says one of those residents was a First Nations elder who called him in tears.
"She was confronted about being responsible for the fireworks not being held. I think it was poorly thought out and not very well conveyed to residents."
'FURTHER DIVIDE OUR COUNTRY'
Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel Garner says the "significant changes" to Calgary's Canada Day events are the wrong path to take.
"When our leaders make this choice a binary one, that as a people we can only do one at the expense of the other, we further divide our country instead of solving its problems," she wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
"Suggesting that Canada Day shouldn't be a day for any celebration does just that, and I won't allow my community to be pushed into that corner."
Rempel Garner says there is room for both celebrating Canada and acknowledging and addressing the "longstanding impacts of colonialism and racism."
"I trust that their hearts might be in the right place. But for all the reasons above, and as a Calgarian who deeply cares both about addressing past wrongs and protecting the future unity of our community, I implore them to immediately work to reverse this decision.
"It brings no good to our city."
FAMILY-FRIENDLY EVENT
Gondek went on to say that all of the Canada Day events have been geared toward families and there will be plenty of things to do, including observing a smaller version of a fireworks show.
"The arts and culture team has focused on a lot of programming for Canada Day and they've made this event as family-friendly as possible," she said.
"It's going to be held at Fort Calgary and there's going to be a lot of stuff going on that day to celebrate Canada Day."
McLean says council is asking for feedback about the plan to cancel fireworks on Canada Day, but Gondek says the decision was made by the committee and not council.
"There is no reversal that needs to be done by council," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.