What Canadians in all municipalities desperately need are civic leaders who spend their time focussed on municipal issues. Water pipes, power lines, potholes, trees, weeds, garbage ... all that stuff. Far too many mayors are wrapped up in foreign affairs, flag protocols, and festivals. Find a mayor that loves delivering fundamental services more than changing street names.
This is what Olivia Chow has turned out to be for Toronto. Everyone was worried she’d focus on international socialist revolution and Defund the Police. She’s actually fixed the water fountains and the bathrooms in the parks! I’ve been pleasantly surprised to say the least.
She also raised property taxes by 25% and snarled traffic throughout the downtown with bike lane / barrier / planter/ patio / jungle gym obstacle courses, and gifted us with Wokanda Square.
Raising property taxes by 25% is what it takes to actually fix the city infrastructure. John “no tax increases above inflation” Tory left us with an infrastructure debt. So that one is actually a sign of seriousness and a good thing.
Bike lanes sure. She’s continued the policy of bike lanes. I like them, so I don’t have a problem with it, but that’s one genuine checkmark in the “NDP social policies” column.
Sankofa Square thing predated Chow, she just didn’t cancel it. And I don’t think she’d initiate it today, she just inherited it.
The problem is the idea that people can't be punished if we can't point to specific ways they broke the rules. Bureaucracy diffuses accountability The right approach is to fire many people when you don't know exactly whose fault it is, not nobody. If the boss, didn't know, he should have.
This is why Poilievre was right when he wanted to fire Tiff Macklem for letting inflation get out of control.
And it should be the end of Nenshi's political career.
Nenshi was Mayor for about half of the post 2004 period and should carry the blame more than anyone else. He is clearly an expert on water infrastructure who claims responsibility for getting TMX built and pointed out that had a superior GPA to that of Danielle Smith
Okay, here's the substance: in an independent report filled with fascinating insights into multiple systemic issues that did not hold Nenshi responsible, if the only thing you find interesting is the possibility of holding Nenshi in particular responsible, the contents of your mind do not interest me.
Remind us Rob, during that two decade long "sleepwalk towards disaster", who was Mayor for over a decade of that time period?
Oh right - it was Naheed Nenshi, currently seeking our votes to run the province.
A few highlights from his time in the Mayor's chair:
...he presided over the building of a half billion dollar "tunnel to nowhere" project, one built in such a way to preclude the LRT from EVER reaching the airport
...he also presided over the construction of a quarter billion dollar downtown LIBRARY, which won all sorts of architectural awards, but at the end of the day, is a library.
...do I even have to go into detail on the Green Line debacle...?
....and he ALSO tried very hard to push Calgary into a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, which will be held next month.
What a bullet we dodged there - can you imagine inviting the whole world to our city, only to limit them all to 3 minute showers and limited flushing...?
Surely it is somewhat relevant that the same Mayor (who is currently seeking our votes in another political arena) was in charge while this rot was slowly growing under our streets,
A lot of politicians had similar track records during the unserious times of the Long Summer prior to 2020.
John Tory (ostensibly a Conservative) let Toronto’s civic infrastructure decay for a long time while doing things like getting us a portion of the World Cup.
Now Olivia Chow (despite her affiliation with the NDP who seem more interested in Gaza than Canadian infrastructure) is cleaning it up.
I think it’s just that everything was unserious for 20 years there. And all parties are getting more serious now.
I just find it funny that Rob wrote this entire article on the subject and left out who was in charge for MOST of the period during which it was happening.
The more left-leaning scribblers across the Alberta media landscape have been making a concerted effort this past week or so to distance Nenshi from sharing any blame in this debacle - for reasons which have little to do with history and MUCH to do with Alberta's next election.
Nenshi had priorities as a Mayor. ....and his top priorities did NOT include ensuring that roads got paved, garbage got collected and water works were well maintained.
He was busy building a political legacy, NOT tending to the running of a City.
....and Gondek (who replaced him) was no better, in fact measurably worse.
I WANT to be as optimistic as you - that our politicians are "getting more serious". But Gondek did little to make the situation better. Once the crisis had passed last summer, the City went fully back to sleep on the issue.
Thankfully, Calgarians punted her to the curb, and elected Farkas (who we should have elected last time) and YES, he IS dead serious about fixing this issue.
To be clear I think Canadians woke up from a 20 year slumber and started demanding adult leadership again right around January 2025. At all levels of government.
Bah...I'm no fan of Nenshi, but pinning this all on him ignores history - the infrastructure defecit goes all the way back to the late 1970's.
Look at the population change in Calgary in my lifetime (I was born in Calgary 1968, and our family moved away to farm in Southern Alberta in 1973). I've watched it explode.
Every Calgary mayor and council ignored the issue. The focus was on building Calgary outward and upward, and the foundational infrastructure that underpinned Calgary's massive growth was largely ignored.
The pipe was laid in the 70s, correct - and in the 70s, precast concrete pipe wrapped in steel mesh was cutting edge stuff, and forecast to last more than 50 years
But it was in 2004 that the McKnight blowout revealed that all that concrete pipe we had put in the ground in the 70s was highly suspect, due to soil conditions in Calgary
When you see a 4 inch thick piece of concrete reduced to "talcum powder", it should raise alarm bells and shift spending priorities.
Fair enough, but the pipe that was forecast to last for more than 50 years should have been on the list for replacement or upgrade in any case, given the enormous cost involved. 2005-1975 is 30 years.
The soil composition and inherent characteristics where the pipe was laid in Calgary have been known for decades before the pipe was put in the ground - it's simply wilful ignorance or blindness that they thought this stuff would last for 50+ years.
The increased pressure the city was putting on the line also should have been factored in long before.
Calgary population growth:
1975 ~ 450K
1985 ~ 625K
1995 ~ 750K
2005 ~ 956K
Add to that the surrounding metro area which Calgary began sending water through their infrastructure to by 2005 and you're over a million people. I think Airdrie, Tsuut'ina, and Chestermere were gradually linked in during the 90s, Strathmore starting in 2010, and Okotoks by 2013.
I'm not arguing with you that Nenshi's council bears a large part of the blame (they certainly did not heed the obvious warnings), but the councils of mayors Duerr and Bronconnier (at a minimum) also should have had it on their radar to upgrade and replace these pipes.
Hmmm .... the state of Calgary's water system seems to be very similar to the state of the Canadian political and economic system, as it has been and continues to be domineered and mismanaged by the "Liberals". Leaks and waste everywhere.
This is, sadly, the legacy of city councils populated by councillors who find issues unrelated to their roles - global climate change, shark fin soup, changing the names of bridges, reconciliation, etc, etc - easier and more fun to deal with than issues directly related to their job like sewer, water, power, road maintenance. Bad things happen when sexy issues are pandered to at the expense of core responsibilities. Councils need to stay in their lane and focus on being good at the jobs we have hired them to do!
Lots of blame to go around on all political sides but the constant yelping for tax cuts does not make big infrastructure projects easier to get off the ground. We citizens have to shoulder some responsibility and inform ourselves of how our cities work and applaud good work even if it's not done by our "side".
Breckenridge nails how the "kick the can down the road" mentality is the easiest choice for any politician or, should I say, easiest short-term choice. Toronto has done some good work in restoring the mouth of the Don River (who could have imagined that making a hard right angle turn at the month of a river would cause flooding problems?) and mitigating overflow problems with sewage but we're still waiting for the Crosstown LRT that is decades(?) behind schedule to the point where the actual cars were purchased and are now in some ways obsolete before they've even come in to service. It's not just a Calgary issue it's a human issue.
This is my instinct, too. Everyone is looking for somebody to blame and conveniently ignoring the median Calgarian voter's obsessive focus on minimizing their property taxes, despite the fact that they're already some of the lowest in Canada.
JR, you decry the "yelping for tax cuts" but I see it somewhat differently.
Yes, I would like to pay lower taxes - who wouldn't? - but taxes are the cost of getting a civilized society. However, however ....
It seems to me that many of those who call for tax cuts are looking at what we are (not) getting from our taxes, such as reliable infrastructure and that is the reason for the call for tax cuts. In other words, it seems to me that many folks see money being spent hither and yon on stuff that is NOT within the core responsibility of whatever level of government and that is the reason for the call for tax cuts.
So, my argument is that we may indeed need to pay MORE taxes but, doggone it, reduce the non-core expenditures and ensure that core service requirements are actually met.
Absolutely all of this is correct, but the issue goes much further than water mains, and much, much farther than simply other Canadian cities - towns, villages, hamlets, and other small communities are facing the same infrastructure failures & pending failures.
Post-WWII municipal infrastructure building in Canada occured in spurts, but much of the water/sewer, roads, bridges, and recreational facilities date from approximately 1945 - 1980, at least in Alberta. I suspect it's a similar story throughout the west, and can only imagine some of the aging infrastructure in what used to be Upper and Lower Canada.
If our federal, provincial, and municipal governments want to simultaneously solve the problem of chronic unemployment and massive infrastructure liabilities, there will need to be a massive rethink about the other entitlement programs that have grown like weeds across our country at all these government levels - namely, many of them will simply have to be sharply curtailed or eliminated outright. Just as Canada is refocussing massive funding to rebuild our military (and struggling to do so), a similar effort must be made to make it actually possible for Canadians across the country to safely move around, work, and live - water, sewer, roads & bridges would be a logical start - perhaps the aging recreational facilities can be improved a bit later.
What's standing in the way of this happening?
Obviously, Canadians themselves are a huge part of the issue. Few Canadians want their government entitlements reduced or their taxes increased, and everyone wants all their infrastructure working perfectly without any issues in perpetuity. We can blame governments if we wish, but we, the Canadian citizens are elected to public office and are hired to work for governments. This is on all of us, and is by far, I think, the largest hurdle to fixing the infrastructure problems plaguing Canada.
Another major hurdle is the obscene level of corruption in this country when it comes to construction projects, and while we like to point our fingers at Quebec (where it's frankly accepted as a cultural issue) and Ontario, if Canadians are honest with ourselves, the problem stretches across the country. The often unspoken but pervasive relationship between governments, construction firms, and organized crime (both foreign and domestic) is an impediment to getting things done efficiently, effectively, and on budget.
A hurdle that always remains that we must work around is our gegraphic location, and the often severe and prolonged weather limitations that imposes on rebuilding and improving infrastructure. This will simply take longer here than it would in, say, most of the lower 48 US states, or much of central western Europe. Mother Nature bats last - which is why we can't get on these infrastructure defecits soon enough - she's chipping away at our infrastructure as we speak, and has been doing so since it was built. This will continue.
As our illustrious Line Editor Matt Gurney is fond of saying - our expectations are a problem. They need to change, and soon. Not sure what it will take, but it's vital.
On that note, thanks to Rob for the great column, and best wishes to Matt Gurney as he deals with more important things than any issue we read about and comment on from The Line.
Edmonton sold off their water supply service to a “private?’ firm. Big joke! Water has instantly harder,more sentiment. They stopped softening it,cost savings. Calsified (calcium,salts,minerals) built up in homes’ fixtures immmediately. Staining tubs,sinks ect. Calgary cancelled fluoride in their water,25% increase in children cavities that following year. Why are they playing with our water source? I think the people have gained some experience over 60 plus years on how to get it right. You talk pipe? hahahahahaha!
Epcor was/is a joke in Edmonton. I’ve had dealings with them,office workers who never leave their desks. Back Hor operator,neighbour,had the choice to join them. He stayed with Public Works,being called out to emergencies every week. Main breaks,Epcor never had the personelle,or experience. I needed a simple system system,Grainger,water main shutoff for maintenance. Epcor said “You need to make an appntmnt.” I called a service can with a key,turned it off ourselves
As the "Canadian Minute" clip showed, Queen Victoria thought "responsible government" was a great idea. I'm not sure it still exists in Canada, where staying in power is more important than anything. Across the board, it's time to make a list of 50 things that need to be addressed now. Sort it by priority and act immediately on the first 5. If we keep talking without acting, this country is well and truly fucked.
Sorry,about the spelling. Service Van,had a key,turn the water supply off and on to private property. Public Works would show up within 20 min. One crew dedicated to that chore. Daily tasks. As contractors out in the field,we felt obliged to report suspected water leaks,Hydrant malfunction as a courtesy.
On the bright side, Calgary has fancy pedestrian bridges, bike lanes, art installations and colorful crosswalks.
This is a multi-billion dollar liability facing the city and it has to be addressed quickly. In a previous life in an apartment condo, I and the other residents were faced with a major upgrade. It resulted in a special assessment to each resident, payable in lump sum or by installments. The city should investigate a similar process to provide the long term funding needed to get this fixed.
We have not had a national conversation out income tax since Alf was on television. Leaders at all levels are not leading because they are not having this discussion: dear voters, shit costs money.
Calgary is not alone Rob. Vancouver went $4 billion "over" budget on their waste water plant. Lawsuits flying and no one fired, disciplined, or written up.
What Canadians in all municipalities desperately need are civic leaders who spend their time focussed on municipal issues. Water pipes, power lines, potholes, trees, weeds, garbage ... all that stuff. Far too many mayors are wrapped up in foreign affairs, flag protocols, and festivals. Find a mayor that loves delivering fundamental services more than changing street names.
This is what Olivia Chow has turned out to be for Toronto. Everyone was worried she’d focus on international socialist revolution and Defund the Police. She’s actually fixed the water fountains and the bathrooms in the parks! I’ve been pleasantly surprised to say the least.
She also raised property taxes by 25% and snarled traffic throughout the downtown with bike lane / barrier / planter/ patio / jungle gym obstacle courses, and gifted us with Wokanda Square.
Raising property taxes by 25% is what it takes to actually fix the city infrastructure. John “no tax increases above inflation” Tory left us with an infrastructure debt. So that one is actually a sign of seriousness and a good thing.
Bike lanes sure. She’s continued the policy of bike lanes. I like them, so I don’t have a problem with it, but that’s one genuine checkmark in the “NDP social policies” column.
Sankofa Square thing predated Chow, she just didn’t cancel it. And I don’t think she’d initiate it today, she just inherited it.
The problem is the idea that people can't be punished if we can't point to specific ways they broke the rules. Bureaucracy diffuses accountability The right approach is to fire many people when you don't know exactly whose fault it is, not nobody. If the boss, didn't know, he should have.
This is why Poilievre was right when he wanted to fire Tiff Macklem for letting inflation get out of control.
And it should be the end of Nenshi's political career.
Mr. Nenshi will take the fall. This is not about blame, but responsibility, and the buck stops with him.
Bronco? He never pretended to be the smartest person in the room.
The boss isn't Nenshi, it's Farkas, who's been on the job for 2.5 months. This theory of governance came out of the oven underbaked.
Nenshi was Mayor for about half of the post 2004 period and should carry the blame more than anyone else. He is clearly an expert on water infrastructure who claims responsibility for getting TMX built and pointed out that had a superior GPA to that of Danielle Smith
Nobody who isn't hopelessly politically partisan can take a comment like this seriously.
Those are on the record statements from Nenshi. Only a hopeless political partisan would reply without substance
Okay, here's the substance: in an independent report filled with fascinating insights into multiple systemic issues that did not hold Nenshi responsible, if the only thing you find interesting is the possibility of holding Nenshi in particular responsible, the contents of your mind do not interest me.
Remind us Rob, during that two decade long "sleepwalk towards disaster", who was Mayor for over a decade of that time period?
Oh right - it was Naheed Nenshi, currently seeking our votes to run the province.
A few highlights from his time in the Mayor's chair:
...he presided over the building of a half billion dollar "tunnel to nowhere" project, one built in such a way to preclude the LRT from EVER reaching the airport
...he also presided over the construction of a quarter billion dollar downtown LIBRARY, which won all sorts of architectural awards, but at the end of the day, is a library.
...do I even have to go into detail on the Green Line debacle...?
....and he ALSO tried very hard to push Calgary into a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, which will be held next month.
What a bullet we dodged there - can you imagine inviting the whole world to our city, only to limit them all to 3 minute showers and limited flushing...?
Surely it is somewhat relevant that the same Mayor (who is currently seeking our votes in another political arena) was in charge while this rot was slowly growing under our streets,
A lot of politicians had similar track records during the unserious times of the Long Summer prior to 2020.
John Tory (ostensibly a Conservative) let Toronto’s civic infrastructure decay for a long time while doing things like getting us a portion of the World Cup.
Now Olivia Chow (despite her affiliation with the NDP who seem more interested in Gaza than Canadian infrastructure) is cleaning it up.
I think it’s just that everything was unserious for 20 years there. And all parties are getting more serious now.
I just find it funny that Rob wrote this entire article on the subject and left out who was in charge for MOST of the period during which it was happening.
The more left-leaning scribblers across the Alberta media landscape have been making a concerted effort this past week or so to distance Nenshi from sharing any blame in this debacle - for reasons which have little to do with history and MUCH to do with Alberta's next election.
Nenshi had priorities as a Mayor. ....and his top priorities did NOT include ensuring that roads got paved, garbage got collected and water works were well maintained.
He was busy building a political legacy, NOT tending to the running of a City.
....and Gondek (who replaced him) was no better, in fact measurably worse.
I WANT to be as optimistic as you - that our politicians are "getting more serious". But Gondek did little to make the situation better. Once the crisis had passed last summer, the City went fully back to sleep on the issue.
Thankfully, Calgarians punted her to the curb, and elected Farkas (who we should have elected last time) and YES, he IS dead serious about fixing this issue.
To be clear I think Canadians woke up from a 20 year slumber and started demanding adult leadership again right around January 2025. At all levels of government.
One day we may start to get it.
Bah...I'm no fan of Nenshi, but pinning this all on him ignores history - the infrastructure defecit goes all the way back to the late 1970's.
Look at the population change in Calgary in my lifetime (I was born in Calgary 1968, and our family moved away to farm in Southern Alberta in 1973). I've watched it explode.
https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/cities/20370/calgary/population
See also page 13 of this 2007 study by Dr. Brad Stelfox, using the ALCES model:
https://salts.land/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/The-Changing-Landscape-of-the-Southern-Alberta-Foothills-Southern-Foothills-Study-Phase-1-2-website-version.pdf
Every Calgary mayor and council ignored the issue. The focus was on building Calgary outward and upward, and the foundational infrastructure that underpinned Calgary's massive growth was largely ignored.
The timeline on this particular issue does not run back to the 1970s.
The debacle started in 2004, a mere 6 years prior to Nenshi being elected.
Two of those three blatantly missed inspection windows happened on his watch.
So the "issue" is 22 years old, and he was Mayor for almost half that time.
If not him, who...?
I'm talking about infrastructure in general, not on the water main issue in particular. The Bearspaw pipe was installed in the early 1970s.
The pipe was laid in the 70s, correct - and in the 70s, precast concrete pipe wrapped in steel mesh was cutting edge stuff, and forecast to last more than 50 years
But it was in 2004 that the McKnight blowout revealed that all that concrete pipe we had put in the ground in the 70s was highly suspect, due to soil conditions in Calgary
When you see a 4 inch thick piece of concrete reduced to "talcum powder", it should raise alarm bells and shift spending priorities.
It didn't.
Fair enough, but the pipe that was forecast to last for more than 50 years should have been on the list for replacement or upgrade in any case, given the enormous cost involved. 2005-1975 is 30 years.
The soil composition and inherent characteristics where the pipe was laid in Calgary have been known for decades before the pipe was put in the ground - it's simply wilful ignorance or blindness that they thought this stuff would last for 50+ years.
The increased pressure the city was putting on the line also should have been factored in long before.
Calgary population growth:
1975 ~ 450K
1985 ~ 625K
1995 ~ 750K
2005 ~ 956K
Add to that the surrounding metro area which Calgary began sending water through their infrastructure to by 2005 and you're over a million people. I think Airdrie, Tsuut'ina, and Chestermere were gradually linked in during the 90s, Strathmore starting in 2010, and Okotoks by 2013.
https://www.calgary.ca/water/drinking-water/regional-water-servicing.html#:~:text=Calgary's%20regional%20water%20servicing%20customers,wastewater%20collection%20and%20retail%20servicing.
I'm not arguing with you that Nenshi's council bears a large part of the blame (they certainly did not heed the obvious warnings), but the councils of mayors Duerr and Bronconnier (at a minimum) also should have had it on their radar to upgrade and replace these pipes.
Bronco was Mayor when the McKnight blow out happened, so yes - he shares a heaping measure of blame.
This has nothing to do with Duerr though - he was still blissfully ignorant.
...and Nenshi ran for election to replace Bronco and do better....
Water infrastructure is different as it is funded by rate payers and not tax payers.
Hmmm .... the state of Calgary's water system seems to be very similar to the state of the Canadian political and economic system, as it has been and continues to be domineered and mismanaged by the "Liberals". Leaks and waste everywhere.
You crack me up, NS
Good, we all need a laugh these days.
This is, sadly, the legacy of city councils populated by councillors who find issues unrelated to their roles - global climate change, shark fin soup, changing the names of bridges, reconciliation, etc, etc - easier and more fun to deal with than issues directly related to their job like sewer, water, power, road maintenance. Bad things happen when sexy issues are pandered to at the expense of core responsibilities. Councils need to stay in their lane and focus on being good at the jobs we have hired them to do!
Lots of blame to go around on all political sides but the constant yelping for tax cuts does not make big infrastructure projects easier to get off the ground. We citizens have to shoulder some responsibility and inform ourselves of how our cities work and applaud good work even if it's not done by our "side".
Breckenridge nails how the "kick the can down the road" mentality is the easiest choice for any politician or, should I say, easiest short-term choice. Toronto has done some good work in restoring the mouth of the Don River (who could have imagined that making a hard right angle turn at the month of a river would cause flooding problems?) and mitigating overflow problems with sewage but we're still waiting for the Crosstown LRT that is decades(?) behind schedule to the point where the actual cars were purchased and are now in some ways obsolete before they've even come in to service. It's not just a Calgary issue it's a human issue.
This is my instinct, too. Everyone is looking for somebody to blame and conveniently ignoring the median Calgarian voter's obsessive focus on minimizing their property taxes, despite the fact that they're already some of the lowest in Canada.
As I replied to a easier post, deficient water infrastructure has nothing to do with taxes or transfers for the Province. It is funded by water bills
JR, you decry the "yelping for tax cuts" but I see it somewhat differently.
Yes, I would like to pay lower taxes - who wouldn't? - but taxes are the cost of getting a civilized society. However, however ....
It seems to me that many of those who call for tax cuts are looking at what we are (not) getting from our taxes, such as reliable infrastructure and that is the reason for the call for tax cuts. In other words, it seems to me that many folks see money being spent hither and yon on stuff that is NOT within the core responsibility of whatever level of government and that is the reason for the call for tax cuts.
So, my argument is that we may indeed need to pay MORE taxes but, doggone it, reduce the non-core expenditures and ensure that core service requirements are actually met.
Absolutely all of this is correct, but the issue goes much further than water mains, and much, much farther than simply other Canadian cities - towns, villages, hamlets, and other small communities are facing the same infrastructure failures & pending failures.
Post-WWII municipal infrastructure building in Canada occured in spurts, but much of the water/sewer, roads, bridges, and recreational facilities date from approximately 1945 - 1980, at least in Alberta. I suspect it's a similar story throughout the west, and can only imagine some of the aging infrastructure in what used to be Upper and Lower Canada.
If our federal, provincial, and municipal governments want to simultaneously solve the problem of chronic unemployment and massive infrastructure liabilities, there will need to be a massive rethink about the other entitlement programs that have grown like weeds across our country at all these government levels - namely, many of them will simply have to be sharply curtailed or eliminated outright. Just as Canada is refocussing massive funding to rebuild our military (and struggling to do so), a similar effort must be made to make it actually possible for Canadians across the country to safely move around, work, and live - water, sewer, roads & bridges would be a logical start - perhaps the aging recreational facilities can be improved a bit later.
What's standing in the way of this happening?
Obviously, Canadians themselves are a huge part of the issue. Few Canadians want their government entitlements reduced or their taxes increased, and everyone wants all their infrastructure working perfectly without any issues in perpetuity. We can blame governments if we wish, but we, the Canadian citizens are elected to public office and are hired to work for governments. This is on all of us, and is by far, I think, the largest hurdle to fixing the infrastructure problems plaguing Canada.
Another major hurdle is the obscene level of corruption in this country when it comes to construction projects, and while we like to point our fingers at Quebec (where it's frankly accepted as a cultural issue) and Ontario, if Canadians are honest with ourselves, the problem stretches across the country. The often unspoken but pervasive relationship between governments, construction firms, and organized crime (both foreign and domestic) is an impediment to getting things done efficiently, effectively, and on budget.
A hurdle that always remains that we must work around is our gegraphic location, and the often severe and prolonged weather limitations that imposes on rebuilding and improving infrastructure. This will simply take longer here than it would in, say, most of the lower 48 US states, or much of central western Europe. Mother Nature bats last - which is why we can't get on these infrastructure defecits soon enough - she's chipping away at our infrastructure as we speak, and has been doing so since it was built. This will continue.
As our illustrious Line Editor Matt Gurney is fond of saying - our expectations are a problem. They need to change, and soon. Not sure what it will take, but it's vital.
On that note, thanks to Rob for the great column, and best wishes to Matt Gurney as he deals with more important things than any issue we read about and comment on from The Line.
Edmonton sold off their water supply service to a “private?’ firm. Big joke! Water has instantly harder,more sentiment. They stopped softening it,cost savings. Calsified (calcium,salts,minerals) built up in homes’ fixtures immmediately. Staining tubs,sinks ect. Calgary cancelled fluoride in their water,25% increase in children cavities that following year. Why are they playing with our water source? I think the people have gained some experience over 60 plus years on how to get it right. You talk pipe? hahahahahaha!
Epcor was/is a joke in Edmonton. I’ve had dealings with them,office workers who never leave their desks. Back Hor operator,neighbour,had the choice to join them. He stayed with Public Works,being called out to emergencies every week. Main breaks,Epcor never had the personelle,or experience. I needed a simple system system,Grainger,water main shutoff for maintenance. Epcor said “You need to make an appntmnt.” I called a service can with a key,turned it off ourselves
"... should have spurned much more ..."
spurred, not spurned ...
As the "Canadian Minute" clip showed, Queen Victoria thought "responsible government" was a great idea. I'm not sure it still exists in Canada, where staying in power is more important than anything. Across the board, it's time to make a list of 50 things that need to be addressed now. Sort it by priority and act immediately on the first 5. If we keep talking without acting, this country is well and truly fucked.
Sorry,about the spelling. Service Van,had a key,turn the water supply off and on to private property. Public Works would show up within 20 min. One crew dedicated to that chore. Daily tasks. As contractors out in the field,we felt obliged to report suspected water leaks,Hydrant malfunction as a courtesy.
On the bright side, Calgary has fancy pedestrian bridges, bike lanes, art installations and colorful crosswalks.
This is a multi-billion dollar liability facing the city and it has to be addressed quickly. In a previous life in an apartment condo, I and the other residents were faced with a major upgrade. It resulted in a special assessment to each resident, payable in lump sum or by installments. The city should investigate a similar process to provide the long term funding needed to get this fixed.
Back Hoe
We have not had a national conversation out income tax since Alf was on television. Leaders at all levels are not leading because they are not having this discussion: dear voters, shit costs money.
Calgary is not alone Rob. Vancouver went $4 billion "over" budget on their waste water plant. Lawsuits flying and no one fired, disciplined, or written up.