O O Ø O O O O
Blowing Smoke
Hon. Dave BronconnierMayor of Calgary
City of Calgary
Box 2100, Stn M
Calgary, AB
T2P 2M5
Mr. Mayor;
This letter is inspired by Monday’s smoking ban vote, though it is not strictly about that issue. In fact, I have a far broader-reaching complaint about the state of the City; one which I think bears bringing to your attention while there is still time left in your mandate.
The City of Calgary is suffering from a leadership void. Though I wouldn’t go as far as to say Calgary lacks vision, I would certainly say that if it has one, it appears to lack the guts to implement it.
First, let me state flat out that I’m not at this moment in time blaming you for this state of affairs. No, it took almost a decade of stagnation (which I will refer to with only modest irony as the “Duerr” years) for the city to get to this point. I am hoping, however, that you consider it part of your mandate to do something about this particular void: to give Calgary a vision again, and then to show a desire to actually implement this vision.
It’s like solving a custody battle by sawing the child in half. Completely fair, but utterly misses the point.
Last night’s smoking debate brought out everything that is wrong with the status quo. It was consensus by committee, with the goal of minimizing controversy, not addressing the issues. It was a picture perfect example of the compromise until everyone is equally unhappy principle. It’s like solving a custody battle by sawing the child in half. Completely fair, but utterly misses the point.
In short, it was a decision made in the absence of leadership. Consider one of the comments made afterwards:
“[the bylaw] recognizes environmental tobacco smoke is a health hazard and protects Calgarians from unintentional exposure”
First, though I thank the City of Calgary for recognizing this danger on my behalf, I’m sure I’m not the first to point out that this very recognition is printed on approximately every fifth pack of cigarettes sold in the province of Alberta. And as for protecting the citizenry from unintentional exposure, I presume this was referring to the clause giving businesses the choice, by March 1, 2003 whether to allow smoking or not. Unfortunately, this seems to ignore the fact that businesses have always had the choice to declare themselves non-smoking. The fact is, if they haven’t stamped out the butt already, I think we can be pretty confident that they’re not going to come March. Of course, any business that opens its doors after March may have an uphill struggle on its hands, if it is expected to abide by the terms of the ban while its neighbour down the street continues to cater to the cancer-causing crowd.
When it comes down to it, any argument that a total smoking ban will have a long-term impact on the hospitality industry seems ludicrous, so long as everyone has to play by the same rules. If the intuitive arguments aren’t enough (I can’t smoke, so I guess I’ll quit drinking, socializing, and gambling too), then merely looking a few hundred kilometers west should put these arguments to rest. Vancouver and Victoria still have a hospitality industry. Though at least there, everyone must compete under the same rules.
We now return ourselves to the dustbin of mediocrity.
So in the words of at least one Alderman, what began as a chance to do “something progressive” ended up as a “dog’s breakfast.” We’ve resolved the debate, but failed to address any of the issues. We now return ourselves to the dustbin of mediocrity.
But this smoking debate is but a symptom of the underlying problem. We need to have a vision. For an example, take a look at any transit map of the city. What was once a shining example of forward thinking (our beloved city-wide C-Train) is now a curious little inner-city transportation mechanism. Extending it to Crowfoot and the Airport would seem to be no-brainers, but those extensions haven’t even been proposed yet, let alone something visionary like adding a Shaganappi leg to service that utterly ignored north-of-west region of the city.
So please, Mr. Bronconnier, heed my words. Bring some much-needed leadership to our city. Ban the butt. Extend the trains. Bridge the Weaselhead. Solve the hard problems. If you’re going to leave a legacy for future councils, let it be because of the decisions you did make.
Not the ones that you put off until 2008.
Sincerely,
Kjell Wooding
Tuesday, October 01,
2002
PD DLXVII