Whether or not you’re looking forward to yet another federal election, we do urge Valley voters to put some thought into who would be their candidate of choice – and then get out there and vote.
We realize it now seems to be an almost annual ritual to vote in a federal election, at massive cost to us all, but we would point out, if you don’t vote, you really have no right to complain afterward as to how things turned out.
Voting is a privilege in this country, after all, and not one that should be viewed as onerous on one’s time. In fact the laws of the land set out employers must allow employees time to hit the polls.
In a world where people are dying on a daily basis to exercise the same type of freedom no matter how onerous it is to wade through election hype being a citizen of Canada comes with this responsibility and it should be taken seriously.
In Canada, nobody has to pick up a weapon to vote, but we urge you to pick up campaign brochures, visit a website or online forum and give local candidates close scrutiny, then try to make an informed decision as to which party/candidate best reflect your views and values.
Please don’t get caught up in the fear advertising, minority versus majority, attack messages, leaders’ pledges of now-available billions of dollars, or polls.
What is of utmost importance is to try and wade through all the campaign rhetoric and discover which candidate/party reflects what you think is important in regard to the myriad of issues facing out country at this time.
When it comes to leaders’ promises to spend billions of dollars, keep in mind they are talking about your tax dollars and you have every right to have some say in where they are spent. The situation is the same when it comes to cuts; if you don’t want to see cutbacks in certain areas speak up and voice your opinion at the ballot box.
On May 2, get out and vote.
Multiplex gym concern realistic
It’s not hard to see how owners of a gym in town would have some concerns with inclusion of gym space in the publicly-funded Multiplex (page 17).
One of the problems with a municipality running an operation that competes with privately-owned endeavours is that it’s difficult to ensure a level playing field.
And as RMO pointed out a year ago, there are already gyms in Canmore – run by owners who identified a niche and filled it. At the time, we, like library chairperson Don Pickard, suggested maybe the 2,000 square feet which were available and allocated to a fitness facility might be better used as a youth centre.
One thing Canmore does not have is a youth centre. While a fitness centre fits with a pool, climbing and library, so does a youth centre.
Why would the municipality choose to include a fitness facility in the Multiplex and compete with the private sector and possibly put local providers out of business? There can be only one answer – revenue. A gym at the Multiplex will increase revenues at that facility.
We stand by what we said last year – a fitness centre might be an income generator for the Town, but it continues to leave youth without an official, structured gathering place.
After all the Multiplex is about filling community needs and do we really need another fitness centre?
