Just when it looked like Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith would win the hearts of all Albertans through the sole virtue of not being Premier Ed Stelmach, Smith opened her big mouth on an issue so contentious I haven’t touched it until now. That’s right; she spoke out about the number one hot-button topic in the central region - Edmonton’s City Centre Airport.
Smith held a press conference at City Centre Airport Friday, July 30, to announce that she believes a plebiscite should be held to decide whether or not to close the airport. “We do not believe that the case has been made for closure of the airport,” Smith said during the press conference. “And that’s why we need to have the full debate. If there is good reason for the airport to be closed ... then I have no doubt they’ll be able to make that case in a full and open referendum debate.”
Edmonton city council previously voted 10-3 in favour of shutting down the airport. Still, airport junkies have refused to let the issue die. The vote, which should be the final say in a long drawn-out fight, is not the ultimate word in some people’s minds. Council voted on this issue last summer, after a lot of heated arguments and juvenile tactics occurred on both sides of the airport runway. However, to this day there are groups lobbying for the airport to stay open. Those who support the airport’s closure are mostly mum, probably because they’ve already won this war. No need to beat a dead horse.
It is one thing for Edmontonians to argue about the airport. They are allowed to stick up for whatever they believe is the best move. They live there. Smith does not. Sure, she owns property in Edmonton and pays municipal taxes but doesn’t actually reside here. She is not an Edmontonian. Smith is also not a member of Edmonton city council. That’s probably why Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel stuck it to her in the Edmonton Journal. Mandel basically said that if he wanted a Calgarian to tell him how to run his city, he would ask. And trust me, he’s not asking. He’s furious. I don’t blame him. The city centre airport could very well be his Achilles’ heel in the upcoming municipal election, despite his tenure as a relatively popular mayor. In life, and especially in politics, there are issues that divide people. The airport is one of those issues. And it could very well divide voters, which is why Smith shouldn’t have pushed herself into the middle of the issue. Does she want to be the next premier of Alberta? Then she shouldn’t risk alienating half the voters in Edmonton. Or, if Edmonton city council is any indicator, Smith shouldn’t risk ticking off a ratio of 10 Edmontonians for every three residents she will please.
Then there’s the rest of the province. The Internet is already full of anonymous people speculating that Smith’s comments about the airport are actually an attempt to kill Edmonton’s downtown revitalization so that Calgary will be seen as the better city. Smith will, of course, always be the “evil Calgarian” to many Edmontonians. To others, she will be seen as the woman who saves Alberta from stuffy Premier Stelmach. But her popularity will spiral if she continues to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong.
I’m undecided on whether City Centre Airport should stay open. I really don’t think it’s my issue, since I don’t live in Edmonton. City Centre Airport is certainly not “my airport,” as many signs suggested during the first wave of protests against closure last summer. My airport is the Edmonton International Airport because, duh, why would I drive the extra distance to City Centre Airport? Plus my private jet is currently being painted so I am forced to fly with the unwashed masses. But that’s beside the point. I may never pick a side in the great airport debate but I will always staunchly insist that the fate of the airport lies in the hands of Edmontonian residents, as represented by the councillors they elected. Council already made their decision in a democratic way. That being said, if enough Edmontonians insist that they want to be able to vote on the airport issue through a plebiscite, then we should allow that to happen, not to make Smith happy but to satisfy the complaints of the whiny few who refuse to listen to the answer they are given the first time around. But every person who votes in the plebiscite should be forced to sign a waiver stating that they will accept the results and then Let. It. Go.
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Let me get this straight Sydnee. You have no opinion on whether the airport should be open or closed, but Danielle Smith is not "allowed" to voice hers? And that is because.... she is not an Edmontonian? Well she has lived her - and from what I gather from your university comments - perhaps more than you have actually done over the past 3-4 years. Now what about all those guys who work in Fort Mac (or on the rigs) and "commute" - frequently. Would you "disenfranchise" them (from debate on public policy debate at least) too? This is rather a parochial way of defining who can speak or can't.
ReplyDeleteShe is the leader of a political party. If you have read her comments she has 2 main points. 1) why should City Hall overturn 2 plebicites specifically addressing the issue? This is an affront to direct democratcy and as Wildrose Alliance believes in direct democracy (unique among the various political parties who pay lip service to the idea, but have not as yet endorsed it as policy) we should bring this up - especially for those many Edmonton voters who voted in favour of the idea. 2) Airports are a significant Provincial economic development issue. Think if the city of Vancouver made all of the decisions about the port facilities - rail trans-shipments, scheduling, navigation, berths, tugs, Roberts Banks Coal facility etc in the Port of Vancouver without consulting with the Province or Federal Government? Exactly.
Stelmach is afraid to speak on this for exactly the same reason as Smith is getting hammered by the Edmonton Journal and associated left-liberal press. Who has got more guts?
And since when was not speaking your convictions illegal?