Culture War in Calgary?

With its western roots and oil wealth, Calgary has probably carved a unique place for itself among Canadian cities. Even nearby Edmonton, rival and provincial capital, seems to be a bit more at peace with itself than Calgary has during the summer of 2009. The flashpoints include everything from the traditions of the Calgary Stampede to the placement of social services and planning for the future development of the city. It doesn't help that members of the provincial government have been a tad loose-lipped in their social commentary on women's rights and how a families ought to be raised.

Each of these have sparked some degree of controversy between lefties and righties who are eager to either get at each other when the opportunity presents itself.

These clashes might be a little more heated at the moment, because while many in the city might cite the way others are spending and say that the city is fending off the recession there are others who can cite layoffs, and cutbacks in corporate extravagance as signs that Calgary is not as insulated as they might think. It would be a cop-out to suggest that Calgary is somewhere in between at the moment. It is more likely a situation where people are trying to gauge the extent and the substance of the economic shift that is taking place. One side is holding out the hope that the recession is just that rather than a fundamental shift in the economy because of the pressures of the environment, peak oil and the trillions of dollars that seemed to disappear from the economy over night when the bail outs and stimulus packages were doled out like Canadian Tire money at a Boy Scout fundraiser.

The uncertainty has sparked a desire among some to stow our resources for a long post-capitalist winter, while others assert that it is but a draft and that by ignoring it long enough it will go away.

Regardless, the lefties and the righties have been doing their best to get their shots in over these issues.

1. Calgary Stampede animal deaths. The almost statistical certainty that animals die during the Stampede is something that the organizers of the rodeo would have enormous difficulty defending. The fact that it is not indefensible, however, is not reason to demand the rodeo be brought to an end. There is a traditional component to the rodeo and it is a part of western culture and heritage that cannot be denied and ought not be erased. Vegetarian and animal-loving tendencies be damned and all that. The arguments against the rodeo because of the threat to the animals' well-being remains a valid one and ongoing consideration needs to be given to their well-being. Eliminating every last threat to the animals is a worthy cause, but it would quickly get to the point where overprotection erodes the intangibles of the rodeo.

At the risk of oversimplifying, it would be like trading the subtle sensation of the wind blowing through your hair while skating, skiing or biking for the security of a helmet that would protect your head from any life altering threat. Gets It: Righties

2. Methadone clinic. The furor over the opening of the Second Chance clinic in Braeside in the SW part of Calgary was a fumble for the whole city. The clinic has had a harder time finding safe harbour than the MS St. Louis did during World War II. The overwhelming negative response by nearby residents who did not want the clinic in their neighbourhood demonstrated a great deal of ignorance when they argued that the patients at the clinic would cause a spike in crime in their neighbourhood. In reality they may have been more concerned about their property values. After the clinic announced it would close as soon as possible and move to another location, the deep cleansing breath was taken and the majority acknowledged that the city needs this clinic if not more. Gets It: Lefties

3. Plan-It Calgary. The attempt to bring in some guidelines for the future development of the city is not uncommon. Other cities across Canada and in the United States have been trying to structure the future development of their cities in response to the future economic reality that distance is going to cost money as the price of gas goes up. Despite having one of the largest urban footprints of any city in North America, many on the city council and in the construction community argue that Plan-It should not be implemented. Evidence shows that the infrastructure for a larger footprint will create a larger tax burden for city residents, but many apparently "tax-payer-friendly" aldermen argue against the plan despite the long-term tax ramifications and the current shortcomings of the city's infrastructure. Gets It: Lefties (When oil goes over $2/litre, the righties should be required to write 'oil is a nonrenewable resource' 5000 times a day until their terms end.)

4. Controversies over government remarks. I'm going to forego the braincramp by rookie MLA Doug Elniski. His sexist remarks at a junior high school graduation show his true colours but also indicate a certain tone-deafness as well. However, the controversy over Iris Evans' remarks about parents being at home to raise their children. While it is a point of view that she was stating and not an indication of imminent government policy - as if they could implement such a thing - the remarks were pilloried as narrow-minded. There are very valid arguments in favour of parents staying at home. Instead of a reasoned discussion and reflection on her comments there were the knee-jerk responses of "How dare she?" versus "Right on!" as trenches were being dug by both sides. Gets It: Nobody.

Government and society need to communicate with much more nuance and background knowledge than either side particularly seems willing to demonstrate. There seems to be a desire to stake out ideological or geographic turf in the city and the province as well. While everyone would like to see some sort of changes to the community the pursuit of ideological change is aimed at having one's way rather than actually being right. If the dialogue that takes place in the city continues to be entrenched along liberal-conservative partisan lines then Calgary is going to bicker rather than fiddle.