Questions and answers from Bow Valley Builders and Developers Association

After hosting an online forum on Sept. 21, the Bow Valley Builders and Developers Association also distributed a questionnaire to candidates for council and mayor. Here are the questions and my responses.

What are your top three initiatives or policies that you want to work on in your first 12 months in office?

The first job of the next council will be to hire the right chief administrative officer. Council has one employee, the CAO, and elected officials provide direction through them.

The second job of the next council will be to go through a budget cycle. This may be its first budget, but it will be critical in setting the direction COVID recovery will take for the municipality. I would, if elected, work with my fellow council members to ensure we go through a full service-review process within the first two years of being elected.

My third top initiative is to update the Town’s comprehensive housing action plan. The municipality owns a large chunk of future housing lands in the Palliser area and legacy neighbourhoods in Canmore are beginning to redevelop. We need a plan with real targets that council can commit to that will continue to create housing that will keep people in our community.

Beyond COVID-19, what are the key issues impacting the Bow Valley and how do you propose to address them?

Reconciliation, housing and affordability, climate change, tourism, human use management and wildlife connectivity are the key issues affecting the Bow Valley. Some of these issues are unique to our geographic location in the Canadian Rockies. Others are affecting every municipality in the country.

With respect to Reconciliation, this is work that cannot be rushed and must be done the right way. I would continue this work by committing myself to listening and learning first to the elders and community members of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation.

Climate change mitigation and adaptation, and housing and affordability are issues affecting all municipalities in Canada. There is strength in numbers and that is why being an active part of networks like the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities will be an important way I would work to address them.

Canmore has in the past supported motions at the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association to convince the province to not consider debt incurred by housing corporations (like Canmore Community Housing) as part of the municipal debt limit. This would benefit our local efforts to develop Vital Housing (Canmore Community Housing’s affordable housing program).

Tourism is going to require the Bow Valley to be a loud voice for the establishment of a resort municipality status. This is a form of municipal designation that exists in B.C., for example, but not in Alberta – yet! One way I would work to address this becoming something that is actually looked at by the province is to understand our annual operating and capital budgets through a tourism lens. I would like to know how much money we spend each year as taxpayers to support services that directly support visitors.  

Human use management and wildlife connectivity require accurate data and scientific understanding of how these systems work. I have shown myself capable of understanding and explaining these complex issues through my reporting. My commitment to addressing them includes finding innovative ways to discourage human use in wildlife corridors and continuing to collect data to track whether or not corridors are functioning.

I am also committed to making sure the Wildlife Coexistence Roundtable created after the death of bear 148 does not lose its steam or gets forgotten. These multi-stakeholder boards and committees can often get lost in the minutae of jurisdiction and process. We must use this forum to leverage the province to deliver on its responsibilities when it comes to wildlife management.

What is your view on the role of development and construction sector in the Canmore economy?

Development and construction will always be a part of our local economy. New growth is limited, however, because Canmore as a community values the establishment of firm limits on development in this valley.

But redevelopment and infill development will continue to be a source of employment and economic activity for our town. Banff has strict limits to its growth and still sees record development permit numbers due to redevelopment.

How would you work to diversify our tax base?

I would work on getting broadband, or high-speed Internet, service for the entire community. We have a broadband strategy and we need to be on top of this issue as a council. If the private sector won’t step up to provide this service, we have other options. This is an important way the municipal government can attract investment.

I also think the work between Innovate Canmore and the University of Saskatchewan has a lot of potential to create the kind of diversity that attracts investment. Post-secondary opportunities have never truly been realized in our community, albeit they have long been dreamt of with respect to the kinds of jobs it can bring.

The current residential to commercial tax split is 80/20 and our goal as a community (as per the 1998 growth management strategy) was to reach a 60/40 split by 2015. We need to update the strategy.

How do you plan on ensuring the economic competitiveness of Canmore and the Bow Valley?

A well-functioning municipality supports the local economy. By being fiscally responsible and focused on delivering the programs and services that keeps the community healthy and running smoothly, council ensures our economy is competitive.

And while we are a very attractive place to do business, there are challenges due to housing and affordability. If we do not have a workforce because of a lack of affordability, our economy suffers.

By taking a leadership role in developing affordable housing, I plan on supporting our local economy.

Resort Municipality Status is something past Town Councils in Canmore have been working to achieve for years with no action or resolution. There is tension on this topic in the community as some homeowners want to keep properties as vacation homes. Do you believe Canmore should continue to seek this status and if so, what will you do differently to ensure that it is achieved?

It is important to note that neither a vacancy tax (or vacation home tax) or resort municipality status exist in Alberta at this time.

When it comes to obtaining resort community status, this will require additional lobbying and Canmore should continue to try and achieve success on this file. We need additional tools to deliver municipal services visitors on top of residents. These tools would allow us to be competitive against resorts in B.C.

But what does this status include, with respect to additional “tools”? That is subject to debate once we can get this issue to be seriously considered. Could it include a tax on vacation homes? It is possible and all options are worthy of consideration.

What will I do differently? I’m not sure there is a different playbook than the one we have been using. I will continue to put pressure on our MLA and cabinet ministers, and I will seek to collect and present data from within the municipality that better informs the community about this issue.

What are your views respecting land ownership and property rights?

I first and foremost respect and acknowledge that Canmore is located within the Treaty 7 territory, the traditional home of the Stoney Nakoda, Blackfoot and Tsuut’ina First Nations, as well as Zone 3 Metis.  

Our system of government in Canada, and the existence of the municipality that is the Town of Canmore, is only empowered through legislation in our country and this province. Part of that foundation is the system of land ownership and property rights.

In Alberta, legislation like the Municipal Government Act, which leads to the creation of a Municipal Development Plan and Land Use Bylaw, which then set out the parameters of development in a community.

Council is responsible for approving an MDP and LUB and thus using those statutory pieces of legislation to set the direction for development. Those who own land have property rights within this system that should be respected, as should be the direction of the community as expressed through its elected officials and statutory planning documents.

How familiar are you with the Municipal Government Act and what is your comfort level in making decisions based on its contents and their legal implications?

I am familiar with and have referenced the MGA before in my coverage of municipal governments in the Bow Valley, including Canmore. I am comfortable making decisions based on its contents.

How can we accelerate the Vital Housing program and its important work/impact?

We have a large stock of municipally owned land in the Palliser area that is set aside for future community housing. In order to accelerate Vital Housing, we need to be in a constant cycle of planning one project per year.

Projects take time to plan. When the majority of our future housing lands are in one area, this presents the opportunity to go through a master planning process. Those lands are affected by steep creek flooding and a lack of a pedestrian bridge over the highway – both of which will need to addressed through a development plan.

That is a project that should be a priority for Canmore Community Housing and council. I would also like to see more local builders successfully bidding for these projects. I look forward to conversations with the industry about how to make that happen, as well as how to get more projects in the private sector to include Vital Home units.

Do homeowners/landlords play a role in supporting affordability? Who else in the community should be involved in finding solutions to this issue and why?

Housing is a massive and complex subject that has many moving parts. From suites, to zoning, to seniors housing and subsidized housing – these are all parts of our housing ecosystem that have a role to play in supporting affordability.

Everyone should be involved in finding solutions. But in particular, I am interested in understanding why we do not have as much staff accommodation developed/created in Canmore as Banff does. How do we support the private sector (i.e. medium to small businesses) to provide this type of housing, which will help with recruitment and retention.

11. How can Canmore become a leader in environmental sustainability and climate action?

We are a leader and our building and development industry has also been a leader in Canada when it comes to building sustainably. Over a decade ago, the Town of Canmore put forward system to incentivize green building and improving energy efficiency, which should be celebrated.

But legally our local government cannot require builders to anything that is above and beyond what the building code requires. That is why an incentive based system works well.

We need to keep pushing the industry to show leadership by meeting higher targets than the bare minimums. I think the recent approval of the clean energy improvement tax bylaw will also be an excellent way our local contractors and homeowners can work together to retrofit homes in Canmore to become more sustainable.

What could BOWDA do to best inform you as an elected official of what we see asopportunities and challenges facing the community moving forward?

I am always open to hearing from the community on opportunities and challenges. Keep the lines of communication open and be committed to compromise and working together to achieve goals that provide a net benefit to the community.

What experience do you have serving on boards and committees? Please list.

I do not have experience serving on boards and committees because as a journalist holding such a position would have been conflict of interest for me. I have, however, spent considerable time focused on the committee work of: Bow Valley Regional Housing, Canmore Community Housing, Bow Valley Waste Management Commission, Canmore Planning Commission, the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, and Bow Valley Regional Transit Commission.

Misinformation and differences in opinions can divide a community. What examples can you provide of working with disparate points of view to reach consensus?

I have always strived through my work as a journalist to be fair and balanced. As a result, I have worked with and earned the respect of many in the community.

I have provided facts and various perspectives in a way that informs the community and through that I have indirectly supported those seeking consensus on contentious issues.

Being a media professional for more than a decade, I know how you frame an issue has an effect – that by using certain tactics, our community is intentionally divided against itself.

I am putting myself forward as a candidate for council that works hard to understand the issues of the community and decisions that are being made. My experience will help me work with different points of view to find the path forward that is best for the community.