Quote:
Originally Posted by Rerun
I was more referring to provincial tax dollars. ... which I should have specified of course.
I don't care what the Calgary city council does with Calgarian tax dollars.
Edit: I've gone back and clarified my original post.
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So, just to understand. The person that lives in Okotoks wants to see to it that the provincial government that pays for things that have a benefit beyond city limit signs not spend money on an arena. However, municipal government spending is allowable.
Would it be fair to assume that there is a degree of "I don't want to pay for it!" in your argument? The issue I have with this is that a new arena in Calgary has a larger economic impact than what is captured within Calgary. It encourages people to travel from Okotoks, Lethbridge, Red Deer, etc. to go see events, which stimulates spending in other places. Obviously Calgary gets the biggest benefit, but there are benefits that are shared across the province.
A possible solution is not to say the provincial government not offer any financial assistance to the project, but that the contribution be reflective of the realizable benefits to Albertans beyond Calgary. This does not necessarily mean the government should pour money into the direct construction of the building, but it could support an entertainment district in town by increasing accessibility to the facility from out of town. Whether that be by improving provincially controlled roadways, developing a public intercity mass-transit system appropriate for the province that makes travelling between cities easier, or by other means.
There are lots of positive opportunities a provincial government could (and arguably should) exercise to help large-scale private projects such as these succeed and provide benefits to lots of people.