If there was ever a time Airdrie needed some new energy, this is it.
Crowded schools, ongoing construction on already busy roads and a lack of healthcare options have been chronic concerns in our rapidly growing city.
City council, the Rocky View Schools’ board of trustees and other locally elected officials have done an admirable job bringing Airdrie’s case to the provincial and federal governments during these trying times. Yet, there can be little doubt that more is needed.
This will undoubtedly be the theme of this year’s municipal elections, and we fully support those candidates who vow to carry Airdrie’s case forward with new energy.
But we can not leave this mountainous task to such a small group. More is needed.
That’s why were are pleased to learn that the new president of the Airdrie Chamber of Commerce is willing to more forcefully advocate for his members and Airdrie as a whole, in the coming years. Airdrie’s Chamber must take a more forceful role in public debate, like others in Alberta, or we risk falling further behind.
We are also pleased to hear that the parents of local students are banding together through a ‘council of councils’ to demand desperately-needed classroom space from the provincial government. Until now, the provincial government has deliberately funded projects in other areas, taking Airdrie for granted based on this region’s strong conservative roots. The government needs a wake up call, and that can only come through sustained grassroots local action.
This is the kind of new energy we need. We just need more of it.
