In Canmore, just like in Banff, the topic of affordable housing goes back years and years and years and years.
As it should.
For a town to truly be considered a community, people need to be able to afford to live in it; whether they are of a professional occupation status, up and comers, temporary seasonal workers, young families or any other manner of citizen.
Over the years, any time there has been public consultation over what community means to residents (ie. Mining the Future and other forums), the need for affordable housing has been at the forefront.
A community can’t afford to see young families or young couples just starting out packing up and leaving due to a lack of affordable housing. A community can’t be made up only of long-time residents who got in before housing prices skyrocketed, or a mix of only second homeowners and service workers.
Both Banff and Canmore have long identified affordable housing as a critical element in weaving the fabric of the communities and innovative solutions are the answer.
Meanwhile, CCHC is looking to address the obvious problem of rising demand for more affordable units in a town that has an almost zero rental vacancy rate.
Where land is at a premium, a stacked townhouse complex likely offers the most bang for the rental market’s buck. For the most part, those looking for affordable housing in the Rockies aren’t really looking for big yards, white picket fences and waterfront vistas, for example - they’re looking for a comfortable home of appropriate size that meets their needs.
Well done, Quebec
We congratulate Quebec provincial voters for putting the Parti Québécois in its place and causing the resignation of leader Pauline Marois by not re-electing her.
Whether in favour of, or vehemently against, the provincial Quebec Liberals, currently steeped in an alleged corruption controversy under its former leadership, a landslide Liberal victory or epic PQ collapse, depending on your point of view, at least means Quebecers seem more interested in the reality of jobs, the economy and moving forward as part of Canada – than a focus on sovereignty.
Clearly, Quebecers, like the rest of us, weren’t interested in more months or years of referendum threats, talk of separation, sovereignty debates and having a party work toward the breaking up of Canada. Quebecers also, clearly, in this day age, didn’t have much enthusiasm for a premier with platform planks that included ridding the provincial public sector of employees wearing hijabs and turbans.
The question and hope now will be whether under newly-minted federalist Liberal leader Philipe Couillard the stench of corruption can be eliminated and focus can remain on quality governance. Just one year after being named Liberal leader, Couillard promises a government of integrity and transparency and one that will work positively as a member of the Canadian federation as well as embrace francophones, anglophones and immigrants.
We’ll see.
