All public New Year’s Eve celebrations in the city of Calgary are cancelled, Mayor Naheed Nenshi announced Thursday..During a press conference, Nenshi announced the annual party and fireworks show put on by the city have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic..Current health regulations prohibit outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people..The regulations are putting a crimp on Nenshi’s own NYE plans, that he has done for decades, at a friend’s house “where if things get wild we may play board games.”.Nenshi said more than 200 Calgarians have died because of coronavirus, but their is light at the end of the tunnel..“I’m so excited to hear about the vaccine… but we are still in the tunnel. Things will get worse before they get better,” Nenshi said..The mayor also noted the lack of noticeable Christmas spirit around the city..“It doesn’t feel like the most wonderful time of the year,” he said..Nenshi said the city will be putting out some NYE options for people in the future and urged people to do their Christmas shopping at local businesses..Calgary Police Service Chief Mark Neufeld noted the pandemic numbers are “rising dramatically” and officers will still deal with health law breakers with “reasonable interaction.”.He said police are targeting organizers of weekend rallies who are “flagrantly violating the law.”. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .He said three more charges have been laid against weekend rally organizers with breaking health regulations and for not wearing a mask. That brings the total charged from the weekend rallies to nine..Fines for the first charge is $1,200 and $50 for the second. Repeated offenders face $100,000 fines..“The place to debate is not Olympic Plaza or the Stephen Avenue Mall… it’s in the courtroom,” Neufeld said..Bylaw officials have also handed out two $1,200 fines two people for incidents are cit hall Sunday and Wednesday..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
