A week ago, Abi Martin was cooking gnocchi in her ninth floor Beltline apartment when she says the temperature inside climbed above 30 C \u2014 warmer than it was outside.<\/p>\n
Martin says the extreme heat makes her dizzy and unsteady on her feet. She says she\u2019s fainted during previous warm spells in Calgary and doesn\u2019t think a heat wave should put her life in danger.<\/p>\n
Martin is a volunteer board member with Acorn, a housing advocacy group that is calling on Calgary city council to adopt a maximum temperature bylaw for older rental apartments that don\u2019t have cooling systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because we’re tenants doesn’t mean that we deserve to cook to death in our own suites,\u201d Martin said outside her 16-storey, decades-old apartment building.<\/p>\n
Temperature cap, free air conditioners<\/p>\n
Acorn wants the indoor temperature in at least one room in a rental suite capped at 26 C. It also wants the city to provide free portable air conditioning units for low-income tenants until landlords come into compliance with the new rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might increase costs, but at the end of the day we either pay now or pay later,” said Martin. “People\u2019s lives are on the line, costs be damned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is very much an emerging public health concern,\u201d agreed Jared Blustein, the executive director of the Calgary Climate Hub, a non-profit that supports Calgarians to take action on climate-related issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not a partisan issue, but something we need to do to increase the resilience of all Calgarians.”<\/p>\n
Deadly heat dome prompted action<\/p>\n
Acorn is modelling the proposed Calgary bylaw after a similar one that passed<\/a> in New Westminster, B.C., in March.<\/p>\n In 2021, the city of 90,000 was hit hard by a heat dome that descended over western Canada for several days in late June and early July. It pushed temperatures past 40 C in many parts of British Columbia. More than 600 people died across the province; 33 of those fatalities were in New Westminster.<\/p>\n In Alberta, an estimated 66 people died during the weeklong heat event. Calgary\u2019s temperature climbed to 36.3 C, the second highest on record.<\/p>\n WATCH | Housing, justice advocates push for indoor temperature cap:<\/p>\n According to New Westminster’s bylaw, temperature in at least one room in a rental unit must be held at or below 26 C between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.<\/p>\n Landlords who fail to maintain a safe indoor temperature could face a penalty of up to $750.<\/p>\n The city also bans landlords from preventing or prohibiting tenants from using a portable cooling device.<\/p>\n Coun. Nadine Nakagawa says while council unanimously approved the bylaw, it has not yet been adopted into law. She says the pause is giving the city time to work with landlords before the rules become law.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we’re talking about installing a heat pump, that might be a bigger upfront cost. Things like air conditioners per unit might be cheaper. Things like shading and awnings may be even cheaper,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a responsibility of the building owners to ensure that their units are livable and that their tenants aren’t going to die during the climate events that we know are coming.\u201d<\/p>\n