Editor: Hello folks of Canmore. It is such a pleasure to live and breathe the fresh air of the valley.
With all of the wildfires and the temporary concentration of smoke in the air the beauty of living here is amazing. We are truly lucky.
Is it time for Canmore’s mayor, councillors and administration to consider a bylaw to protect our valleys’ clean air and keep it pollution free? Public alerts in the media have raised the concern that the smoky air is unhealthy to breathe. Government advisories to stay indoors and in some places to evacuate from the area for health and safety reasons made it that important.
Thanks to nature, the wild fires are temporary. Some of you may not know, but there are small pockets of pollution created by people who burn wood as a primary source of fuel. Living in those pockets affects the quality of living for those not wanting to breathe the smoke.
Those are the areas that our elected body should be focusing on to regulate. I can’t stress enough that the concentration is obnoxious and offensive and classified more as a nuisance. If you live in such an area, the council should know about your situation. Please step up and let the town know that you don’t want to tolerate this anymore.
I see Canmore striving to be clean in many areas with idling free zones and yet it’s a community that needs to protect clean air with a bylaw to be enforceable in those pockets of smoky neighbours. An enforceable bylaw would make clean air a number one priority and protect this valuable right.
Neighbours don’t have the right to pollute, contaminate or emit particles or aerosols into our clean air that affects our enjoyment of our property. Who want to stay indoors and who wants to keep windows and doors closed while your neighbour is polluting your clean air?
All houses breathe with air intakes, dryer vents and opening doors. With colder days approaching, do we want to expose our lungs to polluted air from our neighbours’ smoke?
Our clean air has to be protected. Please, let your favourite councillor or administrator know your feelings about this issue, soon before the winter days settle in.
Harris Bretzloff,
Canmore
