Lethbridge Minute: Taxi Deregulation, Funding Request, and Buffalo Treaty Signed

Lethbridge Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Lethbridge politics

This Week In Lethbridge:

• There will be a meeting of the Economic Standing Policy Committee on Wednesday at 1:30 pm. The Committee is set to receive several presentations, including a joint request from Opportunity Lethbridge and the Lethbridge Curling Club for a letter of support from City Council and $900,000 in cash and in-kind from the Major Community Event Grant budget to support the hosting of the Canadian Curling Trials in 2025 in Lethbridge.
  
  
• On Thursday, at 1:30 pm, there will be a meeting of the Cultural and Social Standing Policy Committee. On the agenda is a presentation regarding the History of 429 Squadron and the City of Lethbridge, as well as two submissions - the 2022 Galt Museum & Archives Annual Report and the Social Services Integration Group Recommendations.
  
  
• The Helen Schuler Nature Centre is hosting Spring Nature Fest on Friday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The event is free and is intended to celebrate the arrival of spring. There will be indoor games and outdoor activities for the whole family including scavenger hunts and building challenges.

Last Week In Lethbridge:

• The Economic Standing Policy Committee unanimously approved a motion to deregulate taxi fares. The original motion up for consideration was intended to increase the maximum rates taxis can charge, but after that motion was defeated, a new motion was brought forward to remove a number of regulations altogether. This is great news - we've been saying for ages that it's crazy in this day and age to have politicians setting the prices of products, especially taxis. Imagine if your prices at your business were set by a bunch of Councillors! Hopefully, this new motion will be passed when it comes to a full City Council meeting in the near future.
  
  
• The City’s Clean Energy Improvement Program, which provides loans to homeowners for energy-efficient upgrades, reached capacity for the first year of the four-year program within a week of opening applications. Some applicants are being placed on a waitlist, and the City anticipates that more space may become available in the next four to six months as not all submissions received will move forward. The program is funded by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Green Municipal Fund.
  
  
• The University of Lethbridge and the City of Lethbridge have signed the Buffalo Treaty, committing to its eight priority action areas that aim to honour and revitalize the relationship that Indigenous peoples have with the buffalo. U of L is the first institution of higher learning to sign the treaty, which was established in 2014 after being drafted at the university. The treaty includes articles on conservation, culture, economics, health, education, and research.

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