Trio of Calgary councillors raise questions of federal influence on blanket rezoning vote

Did the promise of $228 million make a difference?

Three Calgary councillors say they are filing a complaint with the city’s auditor about whether or not council was swayed by the promise of federal funding in the blanket rezoning vote.

“Well, I asked the question to administration this morning to get some clarity about the federal government’s influence on blanket upzoning, because it’s a big deal, people want to know more. It was a ‘yes or no’ question and I didn’t get a ‘yes or no answer,’ it was a bit muddy,” Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean said Tuesday. “So. where we’re at right now is just getting some more clarity, some more answers, because that’s what the people want and they should have that.

McLean is joined by Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp and Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot.

He says there are more questions than answers.

“If council did not approve the Housing Accelerator Fund for blanket upzoning, would that mean we have to give back some or all of the Trudeau money, yes or no?” McLean said. “I think the answer is yes, but we have heard no before. Why don’t we have a whole report from an outside, third party source?”

At issue is the multi-million-dollar commitment from the feds through its Housing Accelerator Fund, aimed at providing aid to municipalities in addressing the housing crisis.

The money was announced last November.

McLean says he wants to know if there were any ‘secret meetings’ that ultimately led to the decision to approve blanket rezoning for Calgary, and any conditions potentially imposed by the federal government.

“We’ll have to see if there was any conversations with federal ministers or the prime minister himself, saying ‘Do this, or you don’t get that,'” he said. “We’re supposed to remain amenable to persuasion, we’re supposed to reserve our judgement before we make our vote.

“But if someone comes in and says, ‘You’re voting this way and you get this money,’ I think that influences people.”

Mayor Jyoti Gondek says accusations of secretive meetings are absurd.

“I’ve got absolutely nothing to hide, we can talk all day about processes that were in place and things that administration has done,” she said. “The one thing I read somewhere is that there were ‘secret meetings’ with the federal government and that there was secret meetings of council that not everyone was invited to — that’s not a thing”

She adds she doesn’t really know what the trio are looking to get out of this.

“I have no idea what the three councillors are actually looking to investigate,” Gondek said. “I have not heard or seen a statement that says ‘We wish for this to be investigated.’

“I don’t know how they would go about doing this, it’s a very interesting concept.”

Gondek says both the Liberal government and the opposition Conservative party were supportive of Calgary’s housing strategy.