This election we need to build a Calgary that works

CALGARY – In light of the upcoming Municipal Election, on behalf of its members, today the Calgary Chamber launches a solutions-focused platform of ideas to help Calgary work better – A Calgary that Works at the website YYCWorks.ca

“We need to build a Calgary that works – one that creates jobs, and allows businesses to grow,” says Calgary Chamber President and CEO, Adam Legge. “The Chamber members have put forward a set of three straightforward recommendations that would get Calgary working. It starts with our City government implementing new ideas to be more efficient, equitable and entrepreneurial.”

Our city is distinctly different since the last election. These past few years our city has been hit hard. With over 75,000 Calgarians looking for work, we have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. We need bold new ideas that reflect that in order to get Calgarians back to work, and build a competitive economic environment for our city.

“Right now businesses are being smothered by a tax and regulatory system that is broken and unpredictable, and it costs jobs for Calgarians,” Says Legge. “We need to fix it.”

The platform called “A Calgary that Works” has been developed with wide ranging contributors, from small business owners, top executives, academics and leaders in the community.

Focused on job creation, the platform consists of three policy recommendations that would get Calgary working through creating a more efficient, equitable and entrepreneurial city.

Platform recommendations:

EFFICIENT
Make City spending more efficient and budgets prudent. Keep spending increases to a Smart Spending Bandwidth: under the rate of inflation and population growth.

EQUITABLE
Ensure citizens and business and residents all pay a fair and equitable share of the city’s costs. Lock the business and residential tax rates to a fixed ratio with a goal of achieving a 2.85:1 ratio during the next City Council term, and a 2:1 ratio within 10 years.

ENTREPRENEURIAL
Say hell yes to new ideas and business models. Put in place a fast-track process when outdated, or a lack of, regulations are preventing a business from operating.

“The success of our city depends on the success of our business community. Our hope is that the candidates elected to City Council recognize how businesses create jobs for Calgarians, and enable a high quality of life. We see the 2017 election as an opportunity to raise awareness of how decisions at City Hall impact business and citizens,” says Legge.

To find out more about the Calgary that Works platform visit YYCWorks.ca. The website contains policy recommendations, information on prospective candidates in every Ward, and the flagship event of the campaign – a Mayoralty Town Hall on business and the economy October 2nd. Over the course of the next weeks the Chamber will be reaching out to prospective candidates to offer information, conduct a survey and invite them to sign a pledge to support a Calgary that works. All this info will be shared with the public.

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For additional comments or to request an interview, contact Scott Crockatt 403-681-5529 or Joya Sauder at 403-750-0425 or media@calgarychamber.com.

About A Calgary that Works

A Calgary that Works is a solutions-focused campaign of new policy ideas to help Calgary work better. The ideas have been developed by, and for the members of the Chamber. It is not about politics or politicians. The members of the Chamber hope that our next city council, no matter which individuals fill the seats, is committed to building a Calgary that works. We hope they consider jobs and the economy to be top priorities, and we ask them to implement the straightforward recommendations of this campaign right away – making Calgary more Efficient, Equitable and Entrepreneurial.

About the Calgary Chamber

The Calgary Chamber is a non-profit, non-partisan organization. For 126 years the Chamber has worked to connect Calgary’s businesses, help them grow and expand their influence in an effort to make the city an even better place to live and work for all.

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