Calgary joins in #CutMyCommute national campaign

National statistics courtesy FCM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2013

Mayor Nenshi and Alderman Colley-Urquhart ask Calgarians to join in the

#CutMyCommute national campaign

Calgary, AB – Alderman Diane Colley-Urquhart, on behalf of Mayor Naheed Nenshi, is asking Calgarians to join in the national #CutMyCommute campaign. She is one of many municipal leaders from across the country participating in a national campaign to fight gridlock and improve public transit with secure and stable federal infrastructure funding.

The national campaign, led by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), calls for secure and predictable funding from the federal government to help fight gridlock and improve public transit.

The City’s draft RouteAhead plan is an example of the type of public transit infrastructure required in Calgary. Estimated to cost $12.9 billion in capital funding over the next 30 years, the RouteAhead plan is currently unfunded and will require a predictable source of funding such as the federal government’s anticipated long-term infrastructure plan.

The FCM also launched an interactive transportation-themed challenge this week as part of the expanded national #CutMyCommute campaign. As this is a very serious issue affecting every Canadian, the campaign will have a strong social media component to help showcase the issue and encourage Canadians to join the challenge.

Calgarians can visit www.fcmchallenge.ca to learn more and participate.

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- Daorcey from Mayor Nenshi's team

Representing Calgary at the World Economic Forum

[UPDATE] Listen to Mayor Nenshi talk about his time at the World Economic Forum on the CBC Eyeopener:

 

Next week, leaders from around the globe will come together in Davos, Switzerland. And from there, they will get a closer look at Calgary.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is an opportunity for leaders from government, industry, and non-profit organizations to share experiences and exchange ideas that will improve the state of the world. This year, I was invited to attend as part of the community of Young Global Leaders, and it is an honour to share some of the creative and imaginative work that is being done in our city. 

As one of only three mayors (London, Mexico City, and Calgary) attending the Annual Meeting, I will be participating in a number of cross-sector events including moderating and participating on panels on the current and future status of government, cities, and the energy industry. 

Other participants include politicians (from the Prime Minister of Great Britain to the Premiers of Alberta* and Quebec) business leaders (CEOs of major corporations), and other leaders from around the globe (including Bill Gates and Kofi Annan). It will be amazing to showcase Calgary to this group. 

My goal at this conference is to share some of the innovative initiatives that have been developed in our city and to learn about creative solutions that are being implemented by other organizations that could also be applied here in Calgary. 

Over the next week, I’ll try to be active on Twitter with updates from Davos. The time change might make instant communications an interesting challenge, but I am known to stay up late... 

- Mayor Naheed K. Nenshi

*Edit: although invited, Premier Alison Redford decided not to attend.

Mayor Nenshi's meetings: December 2012

Below is a list of external meetings hosted by the Mayor during the month of December 2012.

For an explanation of why this list exists and who is on it, please visit our post about highlighting accountability in the Mayor's Office.

December meetings included:

• Gordon Dirks, Centre Street Church – December 7, 2012
• Mithoo Gillani, Budget Rent a Car – December 12, 2012
• Shiraz Ali, Budget Rent a Car – December 12, 2012
• Mohammed Ali, Budget Rent a Car – December 12, 2012
• Greg Melchin, Enmax – December 12, 2012
• Gianna Manes, Enmax – December 12, 2012
• Stacey Frisler, Alberta Ballet – December 12, 2012
• Quynh Chestnut, Alberta Ballet, December 12, 2012
• Leanne Shaw Brotherston, Calgary Hotel Association – December 20, 2012
• Bruce Okabe, Travel Alberta – December 20, 2012
• Rod Mckay, Tourism Calgary – December 20, 2012

- Posted by Daorcey from Mayor Nenshi's team