Ward 10 Candidate Responses
We received responses from two candidates in this ward. The Calgary Climate Hub is a non-partisan organization, and posting these responses does not indicate an endorsement. Responses are presented in the order they were received and have not been edited.
General Questions
1. What are the top three issues you hope to make progress on during your time on Council?
| Bud Thurlow | Stop wasteful spending at city Hall, ward 10 representation, getting the Greenline built. |
| Leslyn Joseph | The top three issues I hope to make progress on during my time on council, if selected are: expanding access and funding to social programs and services for seniors, youth and families while offering more services tailored to the marginalized communities, in addition to implementing recommendations from the White Goose Flying report. Re-imagining housing solutions for the unhoused and examining land-use bylaws to curb further urban sprawl to expand affordable housing, along with upgrading existing properties. And lastly, safety through revitalization by instituting better lighting, cutting trees back, maintaining and lighting pathways/sidewalks and installing bus shelters at every stop. |
2. Women - especially low-wage, racialized and newcomers - have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. In your capacity as a public servant, how will you address these impacts and ensure that all women benefit equitably from the economic recovery?
| Bud Thurlow | It is a fact certain groups are not compensated equally. It is a tough question as as a councilor on what is possible from that position. I don't want to tell you something that I might not be able to fulfill for the sake of telling you what you want to here. There are minimum wage amounts set out by federal and provincial law as to wages. I do not believe I would have the power or influence to make any employer to pay more that the minimum requirement. I would support programs for the less fortunate. |
| Leslyn Joseph | Not all women have children, but I do believe once you invest in women, you invest in the whole community. I believe the best way to ensure that all women benefit equitably is to provide affordable childcare. Making affordable, high-quality early learning and child care available to all families will grow the economy, promote gender equality, increase women’s labour force participation and enhance children’s well-being. |
3. Calgary has been dipping into emergency funds to pay for operations for the past several years. How would you approach taxation and the delivery of programs and services to Calgarians?
| Bud Thurlow | The city has approximately four billion in revenues and any shortages has been from poor management of funds and spending money on mega projects at a time when 30 percent of the downtown core tax revenues has been lost. I would only be in favor of spending within our means. |
| Leslyn Joseph | Last year, CPS agreed to allocate 8 million from their own budget to fund the Community Investment Framework which was to help alleviate some of the workload the police were taking on such as mental health calls. However, council took 8 million dollars out of emergency reserves to fund the Community Investment Framework. Around 14% of the City of Calgary budget goes towards CPS, when only 2% goes toward social programs and services. I still strongly believe that a redistribution of funds from the Calgary Police Service (Calgary’s largest budget line) into services that foster stronger communities, like investing in more accessible transit, affordable childcare and housing, and education and job training opportunities for young people is what's needed. |
4. What is your plan for diversifying Calgary’s economy for a just transition away from oil and gas?
| Bud Thurlow | Selling to the world and the rest of Canada what Calgary has to offer and the talent we have. |
| Leslyn Joseph |
I have long believed in transitioning workers in the oil patch into cleaner energy jobs. Having transitional job training and making it affordable is important. As you have seen, a lot of the post secondary institutions have been discontinuing their oil and gas courses. I believe it's important to make these institutions attractive to these workers so that we can successfully transition and at the same time keep them in the city/province. I also believe Calgary has the potential to become the next hotbed for technology companies. I would love to see more tech companies or startups coming to Calgary. This again has to be fueled by innovation and education. We can attract young people back into the city through education. |
Climate Change and the Environment
Questions:
1. Will you commit to setting clear interim targets for Calgary and ENMAX to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees?
| Bud Thurlow | Yes |
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes |
2. Will you work to reduce emissions from buildings to net-zero by (1) ensuring The City's Sustainable Building Policy has clear targets, is transparent, and requires third-party certification, and (2) by providing incentives for privately-owned new buildings and retrofits?
| Bud Thurlow | Yes |
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes |
3. Will you support policies to ensure zero food waste not only from Calgary's restaurants, groceries, distributors, but also corporate events?
| Bud Thurlow | Yes |
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes |
4. Will you strengthen the City's procurement policies to ensure goods and services are sustainably and ethically sourced? The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply states that sustainable procurement "considers the impact of environmental, economic and social factors along with price and quality."
| Bud Thurlow | Yes |
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes |
5. Do you support focusing new development within established areas instead of continuing to approve new developments on the outskirts of Calgary?
| Bud Thurlow | Yes |
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes |
6. Will you support completion of the Green Line, including crossing the river to 16 Avenue N?
| Bud Thurlow | Yes |
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes |
7. Do you commit to providing equal access to low-cost, low-carbon transportation to all areas of the city, including transit, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure?
| Bud Thurlow | Yes |
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes |
Equity and Inclusion
1. Which of the following measures will you support to address poverty and social isolation in our city?
- Affordable housing
- Low-income transit pass
- Fair Entry recreation pass
- Increased access to childcare
- Increased financial support to community associations
- Enough for All Poverty Reduction Strategy
- Other
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Other | |
| Bud Thurlow | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2. Do you support providing City services primarily through unionized City workers, or do you support contracting out City services to private companies?
- Maintain unionized City workers
- Contract out
- Other
| 1 | 2 | Other | |
| Bud Thurlow | Yes | ||
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes |
3. Would you support Fair Trade Calgary's initiative to make Calgary a globally-designated Fair Trade town? (Find out more at: http://www.fairtradecalgary.com/at-a-glance.html)
| Bud Thurlow | Yes |
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes |
4. Do you support Universal Basic Income?
| Bud Thurlow | Yes |
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes |
Diversity & Reconciliation
1. What is your plan to address the increase in hate crimes and overt displays of racism in our city?
| Bud Thurlow | Talk to our children, set up a committee focused on the problem to educate people about racism. |
| Leslyn Joseph | As a Black woman and a core member of Black Lives Matter in Calgary, I want to see projects like the Anti-Racism committee for both the city and CPS working together. I also would like to see what is done with the Community Investment Framework. It's more than unfortunate that racialized individuals are dealing with hate crimes and overt displays of racism, this type of behaviour from certain groups needs to be stopped instead of just monitored by the Calgary Police. |
2. How will you support policies to ensure more Indigenous voices are included in making municipal decisions?
| Bud Thurlow | I believe the indigenous people already have a equal say just as everyone one else and to make their voce louder than the next person would not be fair for non indigenous. |
| Leslyn Joseph | I fully support all the recommendations in the White Goose Flying Report. Calgary has been given a clear roadmap to what we should be doing and the only things we have committed to has been renaming schools and bridges. This is a nice first step, but it's clearly not enough. I personally believe it should start with education and not just within the schools. |
3. What steps will you support to increase trust and reduce uses of force by police that disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous and People of Colour in Calgary? (Please use "other" for additional ideas.)
- Enthocultural training for police
- Increase number of Aboriginal Liaison Officers
- Alternative response models (PACT and DOAP teams)
- Other
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Other | |
| Bud Thurlow | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes | Yes | Yes | Remove school police and resource officers (SROs) in all schools (Public, Catholic, Private, and Post-Secondary), Stop all new speciality weapons and munitions purchases/acquisitions including firearms, LRADs, teargas, etc., Suspend the use of paid administrative leave for officers under investigation for any reason and publicize all previous officer complaints; immediate dismissal with no pension or payout of any officer with any excessive force and sexual misconduct complaints, Expansion of 211 to include neighbourhood-based crisis intervention and de-escalation trainings; mobile dispatch of these services available 24/7. |
Mental Health & Addictions
1. Which of the following do you support to address mental health and addictions?
- Implement alternative emergency response models
- Implement trauma-informed care
- Supervised consumption sites
- Other
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Other | |
| Bud Thurlow | Yes | Yes | ||
| Leslyn Joseph | Yes | Yes | Yes |
General Comments
Do you have any other comments you would like to share with us?
| Bud Thurlow | |
| Leslyn Joseph |
In addition to a complete overhaul of the Calgary Police, I believe an increased awareness of 211 services for those in need of social assistance and, 311 services for inquiries on city services and the police non-emergency line for non-life threatening incidents is just as important to maintaining a safer community. I would also like to build a sense of community by bringing more opportunities for Arts and Culture into the area and revitalize aging community spaces like public libraries and the Village Square Leisure Centre. |
Other Election Information
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This survey was sent out to mayoral and ward councillor candidates throughout July and was developed in collaboration with the following organizations:
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