Under the guise of “BOLD action”, has the Town of Canmore crossed a line? In a vigorous attempt to stifle the voices of vacancy tax opponents (who conveniently may not be voters – the usual way that citizens can show their concerns with municipalities), the Town is now using taxpayer resources to wage a political campaign, pleading for municipal staff to personally endorse the tax, and taking advantage of non-voting taxpayers in Canmore. This isn’t governance – it’s a political fight funded by your tax dollars.
The Town’s Concerning Actions
The Town is using the official My Canmore platform to orchestrate a letter-writing campaign supporting the vacancy tax, directing prefabricated correspondence to council, the province, and major newspapers. This is an inappropriate use of municipal resources for political advocacy.
Most concerning, CAO Sally Caudill sent an official Town of Canmore email to municipal staff, “inviting” them to support the tax while dismissing vacancy tax opponents as “a funded and organized special interest group.”
- Is this an appropriate “all staff” communication?
- Will staff who don’t take the CAO on on the “invitation” face stigmatization internally?
- Why is the CAO dismissing citizens exercising their democratic rights? Are citizens’ actions going to be held against them?
- Will these citizens be treated fairly if they need to access Town resources? 25%+ of Canmore ratepayers aren’t a “special interest group” – they are citizens and community members being singled out and treated inequitably!