Calgary City Hall Alderman Exposed by CTAG

Calgary City Hall Alderman Exposed by CTAG

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending an information session at the Chinese Culture Center in Calgary  hosted by CTAG (Coalition For Transparent and Accountable Governance) to hear the pros and cons of having a shark fin ban in Calgary. I was surprised to see the auditorium full of concerned Calgarians wondering why the City Council did not  consult them prior to the first reading and passage of the bill last month. The message that really stood out from the crowd was not only did the two City Alderman, John Mar and Brian Pincott, not seem to know any facts about shark fishing they really didn’t seem to understand that they cannot use bully tactic and tax payer’s money to pursue an agenda that has little or no bearing on city issues which they were elected for. The few facts that Alderman Pincott threw our were so extremely skewed , that when confronted  were indefensible. When Pincott said that over 70 million sharks were killed each year , there was no mention on how many are fished for food or fished just for the shark fin. Also in the scientific study that was quoted back to him, the scientific community really doesn’t know how many sharks are fished each year, they can only estimate between 26 million to 70 million. It’s clear that Mr Pincott is only quoting the highest numbers to benefit his own agenda and not  giving the public the real balanced facts so they can understand the issue .

Its was very disturbing hearing politicians like Alderman Mar and  Pincott trying to defend their position with innuendo and rhetoric. Not only did they not have any real facts on why they want to have Calgary ban shark fishing, but they had no idea on the cost to the taxpayer to police the ban. Alderman Pincott just ignored this important question by saying it will be looked into later. Completely irresponsible and ill thought out.

Mar and Pincott also seem to ignore the legal sustainable shark fishing industry in BC supported by the Suzuki Foundation. There is nothing wrong with fishing any sustainable seafood whether it be the spotted shrimp or shark. It’s a mystery as to why these two Alderman think they know more than the Suzuki Foundation on this issue and are dragging Calgary taxpayers into an expensive ban while the federal government has already banned shark finning in 1996 plus the Ontario court  just yesterday overturned the Toronto shark finning bylaw. 

By far the most disturbing comment  by Alderman Pincott was when he blamed the federal government for not doing enough to protect the shark. This remark suggests they have other motives for getting involved in a federal jurisdiction. Do they really care about the shark or is this just a ruse to develop an issue , again on our tax dollars, to slam the Federal Conservative government. The motives for this ban have clearly become very suspicious.

Lucky for the taxpayer, over the next few weeks there will be more information sessions to expose this ridiculous ban and attack on our personal freedom to choose what legal food we like to eat. There has already been close to 6000 signature on a petition to stop this ban in just a few weeks. Now that the citizens of Calgary realize how they are being bullied and their right to choose legal products is being strip by these Alderman without properly being consulted,  we will most likely see these Alderman running for the door blaming each other for this stupid and very dubious bylaw.

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