A vote on a major community-building project in Calgary, which will likely be severely limited, has been pushed back due to climate change concerns spouted off by activists.
“This plan is economically flawed, ecologically catastrophic and morally indefensible in a climate-constrained world,” said Sustainable Calgary co-founder Noel Keough at a committee meeting open to 85 members of the public.
According to Global News, on Tuesday, city developers presented their cases for building 19 new communities, on top of 39 previously approved communities, to Calgary’s Infrastructure and Planning Committee.
In total, the project is expected to cost $532 million over the next four years for transit, roads, utilities, and emergency services. However, the communities are unlikely to be built in their entirety.
Not only did climate activists want the project halted or minimized, but several committee members shared their concerns.
“If we continue to build the city into the decades ahead the way we built it over the past many decades, we’re going to be in a world of hurt. Financial hurt, social hurt, and climate and environmental hurt,” said Ward 9 Coun. and committee chair Gian-Carlo Carra.
The city administration added that the new communities would increase greenhouse gas emissions by a whopping — wait for it — 1%… And this is just too much.
According to triple-vaccinated activist George Miller, the building project is “counter to the city’s stated goals. It’s counter to declaring a climate emergency. Break the cycle, reject this proposal, and embrace our future.”
It isn’t clear what future Miller believes the city will have without more housing.
Calgary is expected to grow by 88,000 people by 2026, primarily due to immigration, and will need roughly 44,000 new single, semi-detached and multi-family homes to accommodate the new residents. Communities, not more green spaces, are required.
As for the “climate emergency” Miller referenced, this was announced by Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek on her first day of office and has been the source of several financial disasters, including when she screwed up a deal for a new arena with the Calgary Flames.
And unfortunately, neither the arena deal nor the community building project will be the last city infrastructure project to get cancelled or be hampered due to climate change hysteria.
In the end, the city administration only recommended that the committee approve five new communities, with three left as possibilities on the backburner. The committee will return to deliberate and vote on June 30.
