Fort McMurray Minute: Emergency Alert, New Board, and Taxi Driver Regulations

Fort McMurray Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Fort McMurray politics

This Week In Fort McMurray:

• This evening, at 6:00 pm, there will be a meeting of the Vehicle For Hire Committee. The Committee will hear a presentation from Uride with regard to the current Vehicle For Hire Bylaws. Among the issues being raised by Uride are the financial barriers to entry to become a taxi driver, mandatory dashcams, the requirement for a physical office, and safety concerns with the length of time taxi drivers are working.
  
  
• There will be a Council meeting on Tuesday at 4:00 pm. The meeting begins with a closed session in which Council will discuss a Municipal Census Update and an item entitled “Municipal Facility Operations”. Once the meeting opens up to the public, at 6:00 pm, the Mayor will proclaim May 17th as the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. Council will then hear an update on the Downtown Revitalization Incentives Program and a proposed third phase of the program. Councillor Dogar will bring forward a Councillor’s Motion to direct Administration, in order to save costs, to no longer arrange for Council dinners during Council Meetings, but rather have those Councillors who need to travel to Ward 1 from other Wards submit receipts or claim a dinner meal allowance on meeting days instead. Councillor Banjoko will also bring forward a Councillors’ Motion - this one directed at advocacy around twinning Highways 63 and 28.
  
  
• On Wednesday, at 2:00 pm, the Homelessness Initiatives Strategic Committee will meet. On the agenda is a Community Plan on Homelessness information presentation. The Regional Advisory Committee on Inclusion, Diversity and Equity will meet on Wednesday at 5:30 pm. The Committee will discuss Committee member absences, Climate Equity, Transgender Rights Advocacy, and an Anti-Racism Bylaw. Finally, at 6:00 pm, also on Wednesday, the Community Investment Program Approval Committee will meet. On their agenda is a final review of the Community Investment Program Application and Process.

Last Week In Fort McMurray:

• The Alberta government issued an Emergency Alert for Fort McMurray and Saprae Creek due to an out-of-control wildfire, prompting an evacuation alert just after 6:30 pm on Friday, May 10th. Although not an evacuation order, residents were advised to prepare for potential evacuation and keep essential items ready. Alberta Wildfire crews, air tankers, and helicopters are working to contain the fire, which has grown to 200 hectares and is driven by strong winds, posing extreme fire danger. Stay safe everyone!
  
  
• Wood Buffalo RCMP said they are investigating a spree of vandalism that shattered glass at 27 bus shelters in Fort McMurray, in areas like Timberlea, Thickwood, and Beacon Hill. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) has noted an increase in such incidents, with 43 reports of damaged bus shelters this year, matching the total for all of 2023 and exceeding the 41 reports in 2022. The RMWB has spent over $63,800 in the last two years repairing vandalized shelters, with future repairs expected to be more costly due to depleted supplies and escalating materials prices.
  
  
• Wood Buffalo Economic Development and Tourism (WBEDT) has unveiled its new Board of Directors, featuring Mayor Sandy Bowman, Councillors Keith McGrath and Stu Wiggle, and RMWB’s CAO in key governance roles. McGrath will be the Board Chair. The Board said they are focused on supporting WBEDT staff, fostering partnerships with various stakeholders, including community organizations, local businesses, Indigenous communities, and industry, to drive economic development and tourism initiatives effectively. The previous Board was dismissed after a closed Council meeting in April.