HOW MANY MORE BYLAWS DO WE NEED?

HOW MANY MORE BYLAWS DO WE NEED?

When is our City Council going to quit trying to control and regulate everything? We have rules about snow removal, where you can or cannot park, when you can water your lawn and how high your back fence can be. You can not hang a clothesline, have an outdoor fire pit, or burn your leaves in the fall. These are not issues that the City needs to stick its beak into. This week they have come up with two more areas that they are trying to regulate although they are only issues to a few people. I am sure the majority of Calgarians don’t really lose sleep over either one.

Recently, a sidewalk demonstration against abortion was held outside a city high school. Some of the signs showed actual photos of aborted babies that were very graphic and real. A few parents and students objected to being “blindsided by these photos” outside of a school. In response, the City is now contemplating instituting a “safe zone” around schools to prevent any demonstration from getting too close to children. They argue that they want to preserve and protect the safety around our schools.

I continue to be amazed at how much our society tries to insulate our children from any contentious or unpopular practice. To protect our children - fifteen to nineteen-year-old high schoolers actually- we require that all liquor stores and marijuana stores be established at least 150 meters from any school. The naivety of anyone thinking that this irrelevant regulation will somehow prevent students from drinking or smoking pot needs to join the real world. In fact, I would not be surprised to find that alcohol and drugs can be purchased within many of our schools. Kids are not that stupid that they will be protected or spared by an invisible “safety zone” from anything.

Whether we are concerned about children being exposed to the realities of abortion, the possible dangers of alcohol and drug abuse, and the new dangers of vaping - the solution is not to hide the information, but to share it openly. Education, not ignorance, is the key to any solution. It still does not guarantee that students will not smoke, vape or do drugs. However, it is everyone’s responsibility to educate and present the facts and negative ramifications on any issue. No one but the individual is responsible for the ultimate choice that is made. The “I didn’t know” response will not fly if students are educated.

A second issue revolved around a newer restaurant with a Middle East theme and menu that also allows guests to smoke a shisha pipe in the restaurant. Shisha or water pipes are a common societal smoking device used by millions of people around the globe. Our ever-vigilant city council, who are so aware of the dangers of smoking, want to stop the use of shisha pipes. The city sees no problem with the smoking of marijuana in private property, but the smoking of flavored tobacco in niche restaurants and bars is totally unacceptable.

The simple reality is that if a person chooses to go to a restaurant that offers waterpipe smoking, they fully understand that, even if they don’t smoke, there will be a fair bit of aromatic smoke circling their table. If they object to the smoke the solution is simple - go to another restaurant! We don’t need the City Council developing another bylaw to protect us from all of the evils that they perceive. Let the individual decide. The City should just quit trying to protect everyone from everything and instead just get the potholes fixed or the snow on the streets removed more quickly!

The City should be focussed on the needs and expectations of the majority, not on the whims and whining of a few!