Quote:
Originally Posted by O-tacular
Let me guess, you hate "libtards" and public art?
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The following is a more articulate insight into the the failures of the current City Council:
http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/nelson-its-time-for-the-real-calgary-to-rise-again
Nelson: It's time for the real Calgary to rise again
Chris Nelson, For The Calgary HeraldCHRIS NELSON, FOR THE CALGARY HERALD
More from Chris Nelson, For The Calgary Herald
Published on: September 18, 2017 | Last Updated: September 18, 2017 3:00 AM MDT
Cheer up, Calgary. Yes, we might lose our hockey team, but look on the bright side: we’ve got ourselves another cute-coloured garbage bin to admire.
Once we dubbed ourselves “Canada’s Energy Capital” and “Heart of the New West,” but now we could pick “Garbage Can Central” or soon enough, “Former Home of the Calgary Flames.”
Inertia is spreading. We still talk a lot, but the doing part has lost impetus, replaced with a creeping pessimism once alien to our make up.
Take the slow-motion debacle regarding a new sports arena that would host, among other things, the Flames.
With the owners declaring they were pulling out of talks, we had a wake-up call this impasse is reaching a critical juncture after years of endless blather, alongside the usual haughty lectures we get from our mayor on every issue he doesn’t support or propose.
Counn. Diane Colley-Urquhart is right in describing the process as poisoned and that we’re back to Square 1.
“We’ve wasted two years of navel-gazing and in-camera meetings. This is not about rich hockey players and billionaires, this is about what’s best for the city,” is how she put it.
It’s the same with the “will we or won’t we” Olympic bid – lots of chatter, but no binding decision: ring roads, flood projects, even secondary suites all get stalled in similar fashion. This city’s turned into one giant debating den, the type of place where our mayor excels, but outside of which little gets done, except social experiments such as green bins and bike lanes.
Who knows, maybe the lack of action on a new arena and the dawning realization of what this will lead to might give us a much-needed civic election issue, because here again, there’s a state of listless inevitability. Nenshi’s approval rating is certainly on the downslope, but his main rivals aren’t exactly going for the jugular.
In Coun. Andre Chabot’s case, that’s to be expected — it’s difficult enough battling a sitting incumbent in civic politics, but to criticize the mayor means you need to challenge many policies he oversaw and on which you voted in favour.
As for Bill Smith, who carries the business crowd hopes, someone should remind him the vote is in four weeks, not four months, seeing his campaign’s been so lacklustre. Maybe he’s banking on name recognition, figuring there are more Bill Smiths in the phone book than Naheed Nenshis? That would match today’s do-little mood down to a perfect T.
Why is this happening? Is it just the fault of city hall’s current crop, or the long, drawn-out drop in energy prices, or our NDP government’s debilitating mother-knows-best attitude, or the constant opposition from every other part of Canada to any proposal emanating out of Calgary?
We’re better than this, and if those representing us can’t bring some energy and action to the table, then we should kick them out and replace them with others who can.
For decades, this city has been the economic engine of Canada, the can-do place where people who wanted to make something of their lives looked for inspiration.
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