Editor: Regarding Jon Whelan’s proposal last week that the Town of Banff should hand over property to local businesses and corporations; I think it is important to remind Mr. Whelan that Banff is a community and not just a business interest.
Perhaps Mr. Whelan has forgotten where the money to buy that land is coming from, it’s a contribution to the community from local taxpayers over the course of the next 30 years. To give that property to commercial interests would be a handout to business at the taxpayer’s expense.
A few questions for Mr. Whelan: Where would the guarantees of price management come from? Why does he think taxpayers should subsidize business? Why would we, as stakeholders in the community, want to give away the revenue stream that social housing would afford? Whose interest does Mr. Whelan think businesses have at heart?
Social housing is not a foreign concept, it’s the hallmark of communities both big and small. Toronto, one of the most successful cities in the world, manages over 58,000 social housing units, while the Whistler Housing Authority has 865 rental units in addition to their ownership housing.
Businesses will come and go, and many do a great job of contributing to the community, but as taxpayers, it’s not our job to pad the bottom lines of businesses, it’s to care for the community’s long-term success.
Christopher Lamothe,
Banff
