Mayoral candidate Chabot questions ‘handouts’
City hall, under the leadership of a mayor Andre Chabot, would focus more on its core fiscal responsibilities and less on social spending, says the veteran Ward 10 councillor who recently launched his 2017 mayoral campaign, pitting him against Mayor Naheed Nenshi in the Oct. 16 election.
In a wide-ranging interview with Postmedia this week, Chabot touted the “common man” appeal of his platform, pledged to change the tone at city hall, hold the line on municipal property tax increases to the consumer price index, and questioned the effectiveness of “handouts” for the city’s poorest.
“When we talk about helping the poor, and doing all of these social things, I don’t know that we’re actually doing them a service. I think we’re actually doing them more of a disservice by doing all these handouts,” he said.
“Hand-ups, to a certain degree, yes has some benefit,” Chabot said. “But struggle and success, I think, is just as valuable an education to help people become selfsufficient.”
Chabot’s own struggle, in his words, went something like this: He grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan. Moved to Calgary in 1971 and soon took a job in construction. Worked his way through DeVry while raising three kids with his wife, who also worked part-time.
“I did this on my own. I didn’t need to have somebody help me. If anything, it just encouraged me to even be better,” Chabot said.
In recent years, the city has made strides to make it easier for low-income Calgarians to access subsidized programs and services, such as recreation centre fee assistance, property tax assistance, basic home maintenance services for seniors and discounted transit passes through its Fair Entry program. Applicants are only eligible for the subsidy if the entire household income is at or below Statistics Canada’s low-income cut-off (about $24,000 for a single person and $45,000 for a household of four).
Franco Savoia, executive director for Vibrant Communities Calgary, praised the city’s efforts to remove barriers and offer some relief for low-income Calgarians.
“With the low-income (transit) pass, Calgary is leading the way in the country. Most cities don’t have anything like that,” he added.
Council unanimously approved a sliding-scale formula for transit users that adjusts the cost of a lowincome pass based on a customer’s household income. Calgarians who qualify will pay between $5.15 and $51.50 a month for a monthly pass. The provincial government contributed $13.5 million over three years toward the program.
City administration estimates the discount would exceed provincial funding for the program and create a shortfall of $255,000 in 2017, $490,000 in 2018 and $1.5 million in 2019. Existing contingency funds will be used to cover the expected revenue shortfall expected this year.
“…I can’t say a bus pass solves poverty ... ( but) many people fail to see that being able to get to social services, and to family, and to find a job you need an affordable means to get there,” said Colleen Huston, co-chair of Fairs Fare Calgary, which advocates for reduced rates for low-income transit users.