Bell: Scrap Calgary’s bag bylaw, Gondek and her allies are on the run

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The individuals have spoken.

Boy, have we spoken.

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In case you have been measuring the outrage it could be off the dial. In case you had a telescope, you’ll be trying on the far reaches of outer house.

Many, many, many Calgarians are completed with the town’s newest try and inform you what’s good for you and parade their supposed progressive credentials to anybody who truly cares.

We’re speaking about metropolis corridor’s bag bylaw, the single-use objects bylaw.

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You realize all about it and most of you might be vein-popping riled up.

The ever-increasing worth hikes on reusable luggage and paper luggage cooked up by metropolis corridor and backed by the town council majority.

The fixed asking for napkins and utensils and straws and drink lids and so forth and so forth.

A bylaw the place not one of the metropolis brass can inform you what good any of it will truly do.

A bylaw that’s not enforceable, particularly by the Keystone Kops within the metropolis bylaw division.

A bylaw the place companies scoop up the dough from the additional charges.

A bylaw that’s for present.

It doesn’t matter if it does little to nothing so long as it’s seen as politically cool by a sure self-styled good set.

That’s the gang who see most of us as over-consuming yahoos and metropolis corridor as a spot the place they’ll boss us round and attempt to make us extra like them.

The reply to the bylaw. Scrap it. Deep-six it.

Jennifer Wyness is the councillor main the cost at Tuesday’s council gabfest to place the bag bylaw on the street to being punted, to deliver it to a public listening to of council to toss it.

Final week, Premier Danielle Smith known as on Calgarians who didn’t just like the bylaw to name Mayor Jyoti Gondek and the councillors and inform them what you assume.

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A ton have known as.

Dan McLean is one councillor primed for a combat. He needs the bylaw gone. Now. Full cease.

Earlier than he will get going he talks about probably the most outrageous issues he’s ever heard.

He gained’t identify the speaker but it surely’s Kourtney Penner, a councillor interviewed not too long ago by the CBC.

Penner says she has confronted “an electronic mail bombardment.”

“There are those that are enraged and outraged as a result of that’s what somebody informed them to be.”

Is Penner calling individuals senseless sheep?

McLean fires again.

“I do know higher than you. Attempt placing that in your marketing campaign garden signal subsequent election. It’s time for presidency to begin listening to the individuals.”

Penner took over the Ward 11 council seat beforehand held by Jeromy Farkas.

Sure, the perspective is all too acquainted. Metropolis corridor is aware of finest. The good unwashed can simply shut up and pay their taxes to the nanny state.

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By the best way, doesn’t the town have extra vital issues to do than insist you ask fairly please for a serviette whenever you order meals?

“If you wish to flip your consideration to what individuals need, how about cleansing up the streets as a substitute of attempting to scrub up our drive-thrus,” says McLean, who has thought of the bylaw “silly from the start.”

On this bylaw the councillor has acquired extra emails than he acquired over Gondek’s local weather emergency or the deliberate cancelling of the fireworks on Canada Day or the tax hike.

Andre Chabot is coming as much as 15 years on council and he’s by no means witnessed this a lot warmth.

For Chabot, even essentially the most environmentally-friendly individuals query whether or not this bylaw accomplishes something.

And the uproar now’s “a continuation of all of the issues which have collected over the last two years. Folks have had sufficient.”

That is the straw that broke the camel’s again and council was asking for it.

Chabot provides how though of us know the way he voted they nonetheless really feel the necessity to inform him how indignant they’re and the way they need him to cross on their anger to others at metropolis corridor.

He says this isn’t somewhat little bit of noise that’s simply going to go away.

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After all, the mayor, essentially the most unpopular mayor in Calgary’s historical past, is attempting to get forward of this transfer to eliminate the bylaw, attempting to place out the hearth whereas giving the impression she’s listening to Calgarians.

On Monday, Gondek says metropolis brass will give an replace on the bylaw and “this can be a probability to make clear the intent and decide if adjustments are wanted.”

Make clear the bylaw? Adjustments to the bylaw?

Kill it. You may’t put lipstick on this pig.

Sonya Sharp is one other councillor listening to the voices of the individuals.

“Don’t attempt to make one thing out of this bylaw. Simply repeal it and let’s transfer on to the issues Calgarians really want us to be engaged on.”

rbell@postmedia.com

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