Shopping for land at the dollar store
Editorial appeared in Fort McMurray Today April 12, 2006
It makes a heck of a lot of sense.
But, when politics intervene, that's no guarantee.
A big block of land on the south end of Fort McMurray, owned by the Alberta government -- like 99 per cent of all the land in Wood Buffalo, outside the oilsands -- is currently up for grabs.
It seems the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is first in line to own the land. That's just great.
The only issue here is whether the land will be given to Wood Buffalo, or sold.
The former makes a heck of a lot of sense. The latter doesn't, especially when you take a peek at the state of financial affairs of the Alberta government.
They're rolling in dough. It's almost as if they're making oil. It's the next best thing, actually: they're taxing oil producers and cashing in royalty cheques.
Ralph Klein and whoever succeeds him don't need the money from this sale. Wood Buffalo can manage the release of the land to developers, or develop the land itself. The municipality sorely needs the money.
In addition, some parcels will likely be earmarked for low-cost housing. That's something else that's sorely needed here.
The inspiration to ask that the land be handed over for nothing -- well, $1 -- came from Coun. Sheldon Germain. It's a smart move.
While we can't predict what the Alberta government will do with the request, we can hope.
Civil servants stung by bogus NDP allegations of favourtism in the sale of a previous parcel of land are likely gun-shy. They don't want their political masters to be in the spotlight.
But surely the NDP cannot find fault with one level of government giving a parcel of land to another. The move would be akin to socialism, in any event.
But it's what's needed in this region right now.
It's questionable whether the municipality would be able to affect the booming housing market by leveraging this parcel of land. But it's worth a try in an economy where the normal rules are out the window.
It would be a big help if they received the land for nothing.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
It makes a heck of a lot of sense.
But, when politics intervene, that's no guarantee.
A big block of land on the south end of Fort McMurray, owned by the Alberta government -- like 99 per cent of all the land in Wood Buffalo, outside the oilsands -- is currently up for grabs.
It seems the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is first in line to own the land. That's just great.
The only issue here is whether the land will be given to Wood Buffalo, or sold.
The former makes a heck of a lot of sense. The latter doesn't, especially when you take a peek at the state of financial affairs of the Alberta government.
They're rolling in dough. It's almost as if they're making oil. It's the next best thing, actually: they're taxing oil producers and cashing in royalty cheques.
Ralph Klein and whoever succeeds him don't need the money from this sale. Wood Buffalo can manage the release of the land to developers, or develop the land itself. The municipality sorely needs the money.
In addition, some parcels will likely be earmarked for low-cost housing. That's something else that's sorely needed here.
The inspiration to ask that the land be handed over for nothing -- well, $1 -- came from Coun. Sheldon Germain. It's a smart move.
While we can't predict what the Alberta government will do with the request, we can hope.
Civil servants stung by bogus NDP allegations of favourtism in the sale of a previous parcel of land are likely gun-shy. They don't want their political masters to be in the spotlight.
But surely the NDP cannot find fault with one level of government giving a parcel of land to another. The move would be akin to socialism, in any event.
But it's what's needed in this region right now.
It's questionable whether the municipality would be able to affect the booming housing market by leveraging this parcel of land. But it's worth a try in an economy where the normal rules are out the window.
It would be a big help if they received the land for nothing.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
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