Council votes to send letter to Justice Minister in support of Bill C-14

By Lethbridge Herald on January 21, 2026.

By Alexandra Noad

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter-Lethbridge Herald

Lethbridge city council voted unanimously to send a letter to Sean Fraser, minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to support Bill C-14, the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act, introduced by the Alberta government late last year.

This letter is a response to an incident last week where an offender in Lethbridge was released and almost immediately rearrested.

Councilor Rajko Dodic emphasized the decision to post a bail is made by a judge, not a police officer.

Mayor Blaine Hyggen echoed the words of Dodic and reminded citizens to not place blame on the police.

“I just want to make sure we’re considerate of our officers and those in the system trying to push (Bill C-14) forward because it’s not their fault.”

Water infrastructure update 

City administration also updated council on the state of the city’s water infrastructure, following a watermain break in Calgary which resulted in unprecedented water conservation efforts due to near critical system levels.

Joel Sanchez, director of infrastructure services for the City of Lethbridge, says the city’s pipeline system was designed to be interconnected so in a transmission main break the remaining reservoirs can maintain the service needed until the repairs are completed.

“We have pipelines that can fill these reservoirs and from those reservoirs we can actually fill or supply water to other areas, depending on the needs.”

While the city does keep an eye on the pipes to ensure the older pipes are replaced as needed, Sanchez confirmed that none of the pipes in the city carry over 35 per cent of the city’s water, which can cause devastating effects if they were to burst.

“We don’t have any pipeline that carries 60 per cent of the capacity which is what happened in other places like Montreal.”

City council’s next meeting will be held on Feb. 10.