Opinion

With two local representatives of the tourism sector on the provincial panel exploring the issue of red tape, we are curious where this is going to lead us, not just as Albertans, but as residents of an area that is swallowed whole by tourism each summer. The government has set its aim quite high for tourism. Currently the industry results in just under $10 billion in visitor spending a year. Premier Jason Kenney and his government wants to double that to the tune of $20 billion. 

The social scientist Brené Brown wrote that "a deep sense of belonging is an irreducible need of all women, men and children. We are biologically, cognitively, physically and spiritually wired to love, to be loved and to belong.

Because of Indian Act land restrictions, some critics believed that privatizing reserve lands would allow First Nations to become economically self-reliant. This included the Harper government, which proposed the First Nations Private Property Ownership Act (FNPPOA).

There is an oft quoted definition of insanity that equates it with doing the same action over and over again and expecting a different result.

Popularity is a double edged sword, especially when success as a tourism-based economy depends on people coming to our valley.