Council heard that Calgary could be eligible for up to $7.7 million through the Building Safer Communities Fund
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A Calgary council committee is recommending the city apply for a share of $250 million in federal funding aimed at preventing gun violence.
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In March, the federal government created the Building Safer Communities Fund, which is meant to support programs that target the root causes of gun and gang violence.
Council’s community development committee heard Wednesday that Calgary could be eligible for up to $7.7 million through 2026. Funding would flow to the municipality to be distributed locally, but applicants require federal approval.
The city had previously created a working group — the Community Safety Investment Joint-Funding Partnership Working Group — with a mandate to develop collaborative funding opportunities with the province and Ottawa to address gun and gang violence in the city.
On Wednesday, administration recommended council dissolve that working group now that its goals have been achieved. Council will have to give final approval to that dissolution at a future meeting.
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Although the city will need final approval from the federal government on projects it wants to fund, Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott said the funding model is a vote of confidence from Ottawa that municipalities know how to deal with these issues.
”This is that first step in that commitment into funding a very local, very specific, very municipal response that understands our own context better than the feds could,” said Walcott.
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He said the funding will help the city be nuanced in its response. Walcott acknowledged worthy projects could miss out on funding if the federal government gets final say in allocations, but he remains optimistic.
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“We always have to ensure that there’s that two-way communication, so that we’re focused on outcomes and not any particular agendas,” said Walcott.
Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner said the preparation done by the working group means the city is well-positioned to access the funds quickly and efficiently.
“We are in a really, really good position to use existing knowledge to take advantage of the resources that we have in our city to apply for those funds, and have a very good chance of getting an amount that will really change lives,” said Penner.
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Twitter: @brodie_thomas