Is the fabric of our community important to you ???
As you may know, the Town has launched the Livability Tax Program to help address our growing housing affordability crisis. The Court of King’s Bench recently confirmed that the program is both legal and a useful tool to support our community.
However, it’s not a done deal. A well-funded opposition group is appealing the court’s decision and actively lobbying the Alberta Government to change the Municipal Government Act. If successful, this would stop our town from moving forward with the program.
Clearly, we’re in the middle of a housing crisis. Local businesses can’t find staff because workers can’t find a place to live. Longtime residents, who’ve helped shape the fabric of our community, are being forced to leave because affordable options just aren’t available. The list of losses goes on with the loss of affordable housing.
If you believe in affordable housing and support the Livability Tax Program, now is the time to speak up. Our elected officials need to hear from more than just the loudest voices of opposition — they need to hear from community members who support this effort.
To make it easier to engage, the Town has pulled together some helpful information, including a sample letter you can simply sign and send. Click here to access the link. If you want to add a personal touch to the letter, feel free to do so (it adds more weight to the form letter). And if you're comfortable doing so, writing a letter to the editor at the Rocky Mountain Outlook can be another powerful way to show your support and help get the message out to a wider audience.
Thanks for continuing to be engaged!
BVE Team
As a concerned citizen I believe that there is a CRITICAL misunderstanding of the situation Re. "housing affordability crisis".
It is transient / foreign workers who accept minimum wages from tourism jobs that is the root cause of the problem. Tourism related companies do not pay living wages when related to other service companies. If you compare FEDEX gross margins of ~14% vs tourism companies using Vail as a public company as proxy earns a gross margin of 44%. A FEDEX employee can afford housing whereas a liftie or guide and most management within tourism companies can not afford housing. If such employee can not afford housing move to another town and find a better job that pays more such as a FEDEX job etc...
Then Canmore municipality spins this as an issue where such municipality has the borrowing capacity to raise capital via municipal bonds if it wants to develop any project deemed necessary for the region. Instead Canmore decides to raise taxes to those who can not vote in municipal elections, how convenient. This is while the town has municipal bond offerings at its disposal.
HOWEVER IF TOURISM WANTS TO EMPLOY STAFF AT MINIMUM WAGE / PAYING WAGES BELOW A STANDARD OF LIVING BENCHMARK (WHILE SELLING THE DREAM OF LIVING THE SKI BUM LIFE>>) IT IS THE TOURISM COMPANIES WHO SHOULD FULFILL THEIR RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES AND HOUSE EVERY ONE OF THEIR EMPLOYEES.
WHY AM I BEING ASKED TO SUBSIDIZE THE LIFE OF A TOURISM INDUSTRY TRANSIENT EMPLOYEE WITH CANMORE IMPOSING OUT OF WACK TAXES. THIS IS CRAZY !!!
I think you're on the wrong side of the argument this time