Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson is responding to criticism for offering snowplows to Calgary to help with the massive snowfall that has hit that city.
On Tuesday, Iveson posted a video on Twitter that Edmonton would be sending 30 plows to deal with the 20 to 35 cm of snow that was expected to fall in Calgary.
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Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi thanked his counterpart for the assistance.
While many Twitter users credited Iveson for the kind gesture, some criticized the mayor for wasting taxpayers money, to which Iveson quickly responded:
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Iveson said Edmonton would be reimbursed for the costs of helping Calgary through the Disaster Services Mutual Aid agreement.
A number of users came to the mayor’s defense:
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The Edmonton crews were expected to provide assistance in Calgary between 24 and 36 hours, but could have stayed longer if necessary.
“We’re a winter city and we understand the challenges that Calgary’s going through, so when Calgary called today (Tuesday) for support, we were happy to help the best we can,” Janet Tecklenborg, City of Edmonton’s director of infrastructure operations, said.
According to Calgary officials, some parts of the city saw 40 cm of snowfall in a 12-hour period.
The snowfall warning for Calgary was lifted on Wednesday at around 4:21 a.m.
The last time Edmonton responded to Calgary for assistance was in 2013 when the southern neighbour was dealing with flooding.
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