Nenshi says province should pay $23M Snowtember bill

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi is again calling on the province to help pay for the city's emergency response to last September's snowstorm.

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Heavy wet snow from two back-to-back storms damaged thousands of trees across Calgary, toppling branches onto power lines and knocking out power for thousands of Enmax customers, in what became known as Snowtember.

Nenshi remains angry that the city is on the hook for the $23 million in emergency response spending.

"We had a record number of 911 [and 311] calls. We had roads that were closed. It was a lot of tough work."

Still cleaning up a year later

Nenshi says if the snowstorm would have hit a smaller city or town, the province would have had to help.

"Because it's Calgary, because we manage our money well, they seem to have violated their own agency's recommendation," he said. "It's $23 million and it is the provincial government's responsibility."

His comments come one year after the devastating snowstorm hit, damaging half of Calgary's urban canopy, or more than a million trees.

The city says it will plant approximately 3,600 additional trees, above and beyond the 5,000 planted annually, as part of recovery efforts.