May sales activity highest ever recorded for Calgary

There were 2,948 sales in Calgary in May, a 16 per cent increase compared to the same time last year.

The numbers are the highest recorded in Calgary for that month, ever.

“Strong sales activity is a reflection of improving fundamental conditions such as a growing population, favourable lending rates and rising wages,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist.… Read More

May day is a post from: CREBNow

West Village redevelopment taking back seat to twin to the east

With its eastern counterpart the darling of Calgary’s development scene, the West Village couldn’t be blamed for feeling a bit like a forgotten sibling.

Bounded to the north by the Bow River, to the east by 11th Street SW, to the south by the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks and to the west by Crowchild Trail, the area was once envisioned to be a “transit-oriented, sustainable urban community,” yet sits idle as “an auto-oriented brownfield site.”

While City officials maintain redeveloping West Village is still the plan, it remains a distant goal, at least for now.… Read More

Sibling rivalry is a post from: CREBNow

OTTAWA – Federal health officials have announced recalls of two products due to concerns about listeriosis and a third recall due to possible E.coli.

Concord Premium Meats Ltd. is recalling Marc Angelo brand Genoa Salami in 100-gram packages with a best-before date of Dec. 01, 2014.

A package of Marc Angelo brand Genoa Salami, recalled due to Listeria monocytogenes, is pictured in a handout photo released on Aug. 6, 2014. T

The salami was distributed in Ontario and Quebec.

Avina Fresh Mushrooms brand Sliced Crimini Mushrooms in 454 gram packages are also being recalled due to possible Listeria monocytogenes.

Avina Fresh Mushrooms brand Sliced Crimini Mushrooms in 454 gram packages are also being recalled due to possible Listeria monocytogenes.

The mushrooms are sold in Alberta and B.C.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is also recalling certain brands of La Fromagerie Hamel brand French cheeses in Quebec due to possible E. coli.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is also recalling certain brands of La Fromagerie Hamel brand French cheeses in Quebec due to possible E. coli.

Consumers with any of these products are advised to throw them out or return them to the store where purchased.

The CFIA says no illnesses associated with these recalls have been reported.

Unlike previous years, trick or treaters in Calgary will not have to contend with a snow storm or bitter cold this Halloween.

“We don’t see this very often at end of October, usually we do have snow on the ground,” said Global Calgary weatherman Jordan Witzel.

“By about nine o’clock we’ll sit at nine degrees. “

Not too scary at all.

“The kids can show off their costumes instead of bulking up under winter jackets.. it’ll be great., said Miriam Joly, who’s son Theo is dressing up as a cow.

But Joly remembers other Halloweens when she went out under-dressed.

“I was probably eleven, dressed as a punk rocker.. insisting on not wearing a jacket.. and I froze,” recalled Joly.

It’s not just good news for ghosts and goblins on the trick or treat trail.

With Halloween falling on a Friday, local restaurants and bars are expecting a busy and lucrative night.

“It’s going to be great for business,” said Jon Molyneux of the National.

“I think especially because of all the foot traffic down here on 17th Avenue –  a lot of our business is weather dependent – it’s going to be a great night on 17th.”

But is it perfect storm for trouble in Calgary?

“The disturbers like to get outside too,” said Cst. Jim Lebedeff of the Calgary Police Service.

With that in mind, CPS will have extra eyes and ears out on streets.  And police ask people to be extra cautious this “hallows eve”.

Partner agencies will also be in residential neighborhoods, ensuring everyone can safely enjoy mother nature’s halloween treat.

New rules will see spending capped, more people on art jury

The City of Calgary is making changes to its public art policy following a controversial $471,000-project Mayor Naheed Neshi has called “awful.”

Under the old policy, the city’s “per cent for public art” was calculated at one per cent of the total capital project costs for City capital budget projects over $1 million.… Read More

Changes coming to public art policy is a post from: CREBNow

West Village plans cast future of downtown core into spotlight

Construction cranes that dot the east downtown skyline are providing Calgarians a not-too distant
vision of what the city’s core might soon look like.

Yet industry experts suggest future plans in the underdeveloped West Village will provide a better understanding of what’s really in store in the heart of Calgary.… Read More

The new west is a post from: CREBNow

New rules will see spending capped, more people on art jury

The City of Calgary is making changes to its public art policy following a controversial $471,000-project Mayor Naheed Neshi has called “awful.”

Under the old policy, the city’s “per cent for public art” was calculated at one per cent of the total capital project costs for City capital budget projects over $1 million.… Read More

Changes coming to public art policy is a post from: CREBNow

Today Calgary Economic Development and Calgary Chamber held a Business Recovery Task Force Commemoration sharing stories from local businesses impacted by 2013 flooding.

Also released at the event was an Emergency Business Contact Database to help facilitate communication and collaboration between the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) and the business community during emergencies such as natural disasters.… Read More

In Quotes: Local businesses commemorated is a post from: CREBNow

He’s one of Canada’s most prominent billionaires – co-owner of the Calgary Flames, chairman and creator of oilsands giant Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and head of Penn West and other sundry energy companies. According to Forbes, he’s worth about $2.2 billion (but told the National Post last year he doesn’t keep track).

He chairs Ensign Energy (and paid, along with other insiders, a total of $4.37 million as a reimbursement to settle concerns around stock option irregularities earlier this year); he owns Resorts of the Canadian Rockies and chairs Magellan Aerospace.

Forbes called him “the most important billionaire in Canada” two years ago, shortly after the Globe and Mail reported he’d advised Prime Minister Stephen Harper on how to deal with ownership bids by state-owned foreign (read: Chinese) companies for Canadian resource companies.

Murray Edwards is also the controlling shareholder of Imperial Metals, whose Mount Polley mine tailings pond failed catastrophically in the early hours of Monday morning, releasing a wall of sludge and wastewater whose full impact on the people and wildlife of British Columbia’s Cariboo Region have yet to be fully felt.

READ MORE: What five million cubic metres of tailings looks like

Edwards hasn’t spoken on the spill and hasn’t returned calls from Global News requesting an interview this week.

(We feel less slighted knowing that, several years ago, he tried to flee an interview when he found himself alone unexpectedly with a reporter)

Edwards owns 36% of Imperial Metals, whose share price has tanked since Monday’s breach – down 44% by Tuesday, by noon Thursday it was sitting at about $9.55 , compared to more than $16 a week ago.

It isn’t clear what the massive tailings breach will mean for Imperial Metals, which has multiple other mines in B.C. and elsewhere, including Red Chris, which has yet to begin production.

Mount Polley was Imperials’ first mine and, as chairman Pierre Lebel told the Vancouver Sun earlier this year, it almost didn’t materialize when partner Gibraltar pulled out.

“Don’t even think about” abandoning the project, Lebel recalls Edwards saying. “We can do this on our own.”

Lebel described Edwards as a “very engaged partner” on Red Chris – someone who is “all about making things happen.”

“It always amazes me the depth of Murray’s understanding and his ability to retain details and names and events of the past,” Lebel told the Sun. “He engages people as he goes along. People really respond well to him.”

READ MORE: A closer look at Imperial Metals

Recent court cases have established a precedent for a company’s directors being held responsible for environmental misdemeanours: The Ontario government has argued directors of a now-insolvent company were responsible for cleanup at a contaminated site.

But the Canadian Energy Research Institute’s Dinara Millington thinks it’s unlikely the Mount Polley breach will hurt Edwards directly.

“Him personally beign held responsible, I don’t think so. But what might happen is you might see if he’s feeling pressure … he might be selling off shares,” she said.

“There could be pressure – internally or externally … to get him to rethink what companies to invest in.”

READ MORE: BC orders mine to plug toxic tailings release

Last year, Edwards was awarded the International Horatio Alger Award, given to someone “who has persevered through adversity to become a successful entrepreneur or community leader.”

“There isn’t a Canadian more deserving of this award than Murray Edwards – a man of extraordinary business achievement and a dedicated philanthropist,” Dominic D’Alessandro, President of the Horatio Alger Association of Canada, said in a statement at the time. “Murray’s story showcases that hard work pays off.”

An alumnus of the University of Saskatchewan (which named a business school after him) and the University of Toronto, Regina-born Edwards told the Post he grew up in a “spectacularly unspectacular middle-class family.”

“Anybody can do a deal,” he said at the time. “The tough part is doing the deal at the right time, being strategic.”

Take a walk this weekend and learn a little, or a lot, about the city of Calgary.

The Calgary Foundation is hosting the seventh annual Jane’s Walk May 2-4.

Jane’s Walk is a global movement of free, locally led walking tours inspired by Jane Jacobs. Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urban writer and activist behind community-based approaches to planning.… Read More

This weekend: See Calgary with Jane’s Walks is a post from: CREBNow

City releases Bicycle Count report

Calgarians love their bicycles, and the City has the numbers to prove it.

Released as part of the City of Calgary’s first ever official bike count, data collected by the city
showed over 19,000 cyclists passed by one of 51 collection points during two six-hour periods (6:30-9:30 a.m.… Read More

Have bike, will travel is a post from: CREBNow

West Village plans cast future of downtown core into spotlight

Construction cranes that dot the east downtown skyline are providing Calgarians a not-too distant
vision of what the city’s core might soon look like.

Yet industry experts suggest future plans in the underdeveloped West Village will provide a better understanding of what’s really in store in the heart of Calgary.… Read More

The new west is a post from: CREBNow

Calgary builders team up to bring assisted-living facility to Beltline

Calgarians lacking a proper place to call home are set to be given a helping hand thanks to a collaborative effort from 12 Calgary-area builders.

Stepping Stone Manor, which will be the first of eight apartment buildings to be constructed in the next four years, will be a 30-unit facility in the Beltline community.… Read More

Stepping Up is a post from: CREBNow

Hardy flowers for the cool spring season

A giant cardboard box of flowers arrived last week. Every plant was primly upright and not a drop of soil had escaped a single pot.

What?

Who gets their annuals shipped in?

Well, I do, but quite accidentally. Ten years ago, I filmed a television series for Home and Garden television
called Bugs and Blooms.… Read More

Punchy pansies is a post from: CREBNow

Echeverias proving popular for summer nuptials

Two out of two brides have asked me to help them find the same plants for their wedding this summer.

OK – it’s true – I only know two brides-to-be, but I was surprised they both inquired about the same plant. My niece Ayla and the daughter of my university roommate , Kendra, asked me about succulent plants for their big days.… Read More

Wedding bell bliss is a post from: CREBNow

Recreation properties offer a scenic and serene home away from home

The dip of a paddle in the lake, the sizzle of a steak on the barbecue, the haunting hoot of a Great-Horned Owl: welcome to recreational living.

In a recreation survey conducted by the Alberta government, the top three favourite leisure activity of respondents was walking, golf and camping.… Read More

A little rest and relaxation is a post from: CREBNow

Town offers country-style living with room for plenty of recreation

Situated on the banks of the Sheep River, approximately 18 kilometres south of Calgary, Okotoks offers country-style living just a short drive from the big city.

Charlie-Mae Marlatt, an Okotoks resident of three years said, “I like living in Okotoks because it is family oriented, family focused, has a small town community feel and it is 10 to 15 minutes away from the city.”

Marlatt’s favourite pastimes include running on the pathway system, going to the coffee shops in Olde Towne Okotoks and shopping on Elizabeth Street.… Read More

So much in Okotoks is a post from: CREBNow

Residents in Cochrane who live in condos, apartments and townhouses will soon have access to home recycling.

In a release, the Town is changing its Waste Management Bylaw to include multi-family complexes.

“The revisions to the bylaw help multi-family complexes include recycling in their waste service,” said Sharon Howland, manager of waste and recycling.… Read More

Multi-family recycling in the works for Cochrane is a post from: CREBNow

New rules will see spending capped, more people on art jury

The City of Calgary is making changes to its public art policy following a controversial $471,000-project Mayor Naheed Neshi has called “awful.”

Under the old policy, the city’s “per cent for public art” was calculated at one per cent of the total capital project costs for City capital budget projects over $1 million.… Read More

Changes coming to public art policy is a post from: CREBNow

Echeverias proving popular for summer nuptials

Two out of two brides have asked me to help them find the same plants for their wedding this summer.

OK – it’s true – I only know two brides-to-be, but I was surprised they both inquired about the same plant. My niece Ayla and the daughter of my university roommate , Kendra, asked me about succulent plants for their big days.… Read More

Wedding bell bliss is a post from: CREBNow