Address Affordability

Eliminate Barriers to Housing – Expedite approval of subdivisions, streamline development permit processes, and eliminate unnecessary costs and bureaucratic hurdles.

Reduce Spending – Address out-of-control spending to reduce fees, surcharges, and property taxes, providing relief for Calgarians.

Quit Dithering – We need to act quickly on these issues. Delaying the changes to the way we calculate the Local Access Fee to improve affordability were completely unacceptable.

Make Affordability a Priority – We need to elect a City Council committed to tackling affordability as the number one priority. Enough with the distractions on ideological issues.

The most effective way to address housing affordability in our city is to eliminate barriers to home construction. We must expedite the approval of subdivisions, streamline our approval processes for development permits, and ensure that we are doing everything possible to eliminate unnecessary costs and bureaucratic hurdles that hinder development.

Our out-of-control spending is having a significant impact on affordability. We have witnessed continuous increases in fees, surcharges, and property taxes in our city for residents and businesses. Reducing waste and unnecessary spending is the only way to get some relief for Calgarians. Some members of City Council have shown a complete disregard for affordability measures, and we need to elect Councillors who are genuinely committed to fiscal responsibility, and not just during election years.

Recent discussions regarding the Local Access Fee for electricity exemplify the City of Calgary's reluctance to tackle affordability issues. Calgary was the only municipality in Alberta to base its fee on the Regulated Rate Option (RRO) for electricity instead of actual electricity usage, which caused Calgarians to incur higher fees than residents in any other parts of the province, resulting in significant surpluses for the city during periods of elevated electricity rates. These surpluses have been spent almost immediately after they were announced, with no consideration of refunding electricity customers for the excess charges.

Instead of promptly addressing the issue, the Council and Administration attempted to delay any action linking rates to electricity usage until 2027. Fortunately, the Province intervened with Bill 19, effectively compelling the City of Calgary to implement these changes in 2025.

We must elect a City Council that prioritizes affordability and put an end to overcharging our residents and accumulating surplus funds when there is a clear path to prevent it. We need to take meaningful action quickly to address the affordability crisis our residents face.