Lethbridge Minute: Valentine’s Day, Census Discrepancy, and Vaccine Passport Dead

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

This Week In Lethbridge:

• We’d like to wish every one of our readers, including those at City Hall, a Happy Valentine’s Day! City Council isn’t set to work today, but will be busy with three meetings scheduled this week.
  
  
• On Tuesday, there will be a regular City Council meeting at 1:30 pm. Council will actually begin this meeting at 12:30 pm, but the early portion will be held in-camera. Once the meeting opens back up to the public, Council will discuss the findings of the 2022 Census, the Outdoor Sports Court location, and bylaws intended to close a portion of 30th Street West and 4th Avenue North. Before closing out the meeting, Council will approve the establishment of the newly created Integrity Commissioner position.
  
  
• On Wednesday, there will be a meeting of the Economic Standing Policy Committee at 1:30 pm. On Thursday, there will be a meeting of the Cultural and Social Standing Policy Committee at 1:30 pm. At this meeting, Council will receive a presentation on a governance model update from the Community Wellbeing & Safety Strategy Advisory Committee Chair. Council will also receive a presentation from the Indigenous Relations Advisor who will provide an update on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Work Plan.

Last Week In Lethbridge:

• The Restrictions Exemption Program ended Thursday night when the clock struck midnight, while K-12 masking rules are set to expire today. Some local businesses are already reporting an increase in customers. With the program gone and the masking rules for kids eased, it appears we are beginning to return to normal. Do you think this will be short-lived, or do you think we're open for spring?
  
  
• The City of Lethbridge will no longer require proof of vaccination to enter or use City-operated buildings. The news follows the announcement earlier in the week that the Province has entered the first phase of their reopening strategy. In response to the news and the City’s decision, Mayor Blaine Hyggen said that “we all have a collective responsibility to do what we can, and to keep everyone safe and businesses open”.
  
  
• Data from the 2021 federal census pegs Lethbridge’s total population at 98,406, down from 101,482 people reported in the 2019 municipal census. Some may wonder about the discrepancy, and for once we might actually lean more towards the City’s numbers. The federal census is usually the more accurate of the two, but perhaps that isn’t the case this time around due to potential data collection problems during COVID-19.

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