DAVISON: Calgary doesn’t need to police tree swings, it needs to deal with crime

Jeff Davison is a candidate for Mayor of Calgary in the October municipal electionsOur city has reached a tipping point, where the Calgary story of the month is a nine-year-old-boy having his tree swing taken down by city bylaw officers.While crime and social disorder is rampant, homeless encampments are a problem, property crime continues to plague our neighbourhoods, and our C-Train isn’t safe — Calgary City Council has decided we have the resources to dispatch our bylaw officers to crack down on nine-year-old kids playing in their yards.Last week, a Calgary bylaw officer served notice to a West Hillhurst family to tear down a tree swing that had been in place for years near a city sidewalk, belonging to a nine‑year‑old boy, because it supposedly violated the Tree Protection Bylaw..It’s the height of bureaucracy and comes at a time when soaring property taxes have translated to lagging services, with 40 per cent of our roads in disrepair, our water pipes bursting, needles in our parks and playgrounds, and crime and social disorder running rampant across our city. Is it any wonder that Calgarians have erupted in outrage? It erupted faster than an aging city water line that's overdue for maintenance.Only a few days ago, a video went viral of a thug stomping on top of parked cars and causing damage to them. It’s ironic that one of these vehicles belonged to a city councillor — if that wasn’t a message to City Council to get tough on crime, I don’t know what is. It’s a level of lawlessness that City Council has yet to meaningfully address..When people write into media or post videos on their socials describing horror stories — aggravated assaults, repeated property damage, downtown closures — City Hall is silent.But a complaint about the swing? Swift attention.This is not politics — it’s basic common sense. Taxpayers are tired of pet projects trumping priorities. We're tired of downtown businesses closing early because customers feel unsafe. We're tired of our seniors and our youth avoiding transit after dark. We're tired of a city that’s more concerned about handing out bylaw infractions than keeping basic services up.Most of all, Calgarians are tired of electing officials that simply don’t listen, unless groups of citizens amass to sue the City to have their voices heard..City Council repeatedly misses the mark and keeps busy green lighting costly climate strategies, pet projects or bad public art. It’s like they forgot the whole reason they were elected — to plow the snow, pick up the garbage, keep the water pipes running and not bursting, and fix the roads. Instead of facilitating safe, healthy neighborhoods where children can enjoy childhood, our civic leadership doubles down on meaningless enforcement.We need to support our frontlines and put more police offices on the ground. We need a downtown police station. We need a strategy to tackle the criminals who continue to reoffend. We need to develop a collaborative relationship with the province to develop a health care strategy that will offer real solutions for the mental health and addictions problem on our streets.The choice is clear: Calgary can be the safe, vibrant, family-friendly city it used to be — or we can keep policing swings while crime spirals. It’s time to get back to basics and to demand better from your elected officials. Let’s put citizens first.Jeff Davison is a candidate for Mayor of Calgary in the October municipal elections.

DAVISON: Calgary doesn’t need to police tree swings, it needs to deal with crime

Related Stories