The continued cold snap in Calgary is causing dozens of flight delays and cancellations, a spike in calls to the Humane Society for animals left in the cold and soaring demand of some city shelters.
Several days of winter weather in Calgary and across other parts of the country have prompted WestJet to cancel more than 130 flights across its operations over the past two days.
“The severe cold and accumulating snow have compounded challenges with aircraft requiring maintenance over multiple days, resulting in 92 total cancellations on Feb. 3, and today (Feb. 4) we will proactively cancel around 40 flights,” read part of a statement from WestJet.
At Calgary International Airport on Tuesday, help desks saw long lineups of passengers grounded for hours or even days.
Amanda Adamson’s flight out west was cancelled on Monday, and she still wasn’t sure when she’d be able to get back home.
“Yesterday, I was just exhausted; I couldn’t even think. And then I had to pay for my own hotel, which was not in the budget,” Adamson said as she waited in a line for WestJet customers who have had flights interrupted or cancelled.
“And now I think we’re hearing a lot of rumours (we won’t leave) until Friday.”
“I can also confirm that we are adding flights as we safely bring aircraft back online,” a spokesperson for WestJet told CTV News.
Pets left out in the cold
Elsewhere, the Calgary Humane Society says its teams have been especially busy during the multi-day cold snap.
“Usually, when it’s this cold this quickly, people make good decisions,” said Brad Nichols, the Humane Society’s director of enforcement.
“But there have been some outliers, and we’ve seen some seizures over the last couple of days where we’ve had to remove some animals, at least temporarily.”
Although it depends on the size and breed of the animal, most pets are not equipped to spend extended periods of time in the bitter cold, Nichols said.
The enforcement team continues to receive calls from concerned Calgarians about animals who have been left in yards or outside doghouses for long periods.
In extreme cases, teams will seize the animal from its owners, and people could face fines or possible jail time if charges are pursued.
“I know we’ve seen several—it’s probably in the range of about a dozen at this point—but that’s ongoing. And our guys are, I think, just back from a call right now, but they’ll be heading out to more very quickly,” Nichols said.
Shelters see soaring demand
As Calgary’s most vulnerable seek a reprieve from the cold, some agencies helping those who are unhoused are overcapacity.
The Mustard Seed typically sees its capacity hover around 95 per cent throughout the year.
During the latest stretch of winter weather, the organization has seen capacity top 130 per cent.
“We even see some outliers some nights where it’s double the occupancy in some of our smaller shelters. And so, what that means is that the need obviously is huge,” said Phil Calvert with The Mustard Seed.
“So, we need community support, as we always have through our first 40 years, and it also means that the services that we provide get stretched,” he said.
