The
Platform

“LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO BRING CALGARY FORWARD”

- Dirk Fontaine

Ward 12 City Councillor Candidate

I’m running for Ward 12 because I love this city. Calgary has given me the opportunity to raise a family, own my own business and work for some of the greatest companies there are in this country. These past few years have proven to be challenging for many people in this city, and we needed a bold City Council to navigate us through those tough times, however we got the opposite.

We instead saw a divided, dysfunctional council continue to spend your money recklessly while steadily raising your taxes. Calgary is one of the greatest cities in the world, and I believe it is time for new leadership focused on serving the needs of Calgarians first and foremost.

As your Ward 12 Councillor, I would be your voice on City Council. So while it is important for you to know where I would stand on the issues of today, it is even more important for me to hear from you to define where we will go in the future.

Fiscal Responsibility

Calgarians are hard working, they are innovators and they are business creators and builders. Taxation is a fact of life, and Calgarians have always been willing to pay our fair share to live in the amazing city that we do.

We just don’t want to see our tax dollars spent frivolously or on poorly planned projects that end up over budget. All this while City Hall spending has increased over 40% in the last 10 years while service levels have dropped.

View My Commitment
  • Deep dive into the current tax burden being shouldered by businesses in Calgary.
  • Open budgeting process to ensure the taxpayers of Calgary and getting the best possible deal for their tax dollars. We need to spend smarter.
  • Better oversight on all current and upcoming projects.
  • Cost containment for projects with no allowance for budget or scope creep.
  • Increased service levels for the city services provided such as snow removal and green space maintenance.
  • Poor snow clearing in Calgary is not only a public safety concern, it impacts business and individuals sometimes for days after a snow event. The move to no longer clear residential streets was a dangerous one and needs to be reversed immedidately
  • Thorough examination of City of Calgary payroll with over 700 employees earning over $100,000 per year

Local Economy

The downtown core continues to suffer from record vacancy rates that began even before the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been posturing and political games being played on projects such as the green line. These projects needed shovels in the ground years ago and this would have saved millions of dollars and put Calgarians to work.

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  • The downtown core continues to suffer from record vacancy rate that begun before COVID-19 pandemic. The downtown core will require strategic investment in order to survive and eventually thrive once again. This could start with the reimagining of commercial space to residential to encourage new investment.
  • As we recover from the pandemic, we would also seek guidance and advice from other municipalities around the world to find solutions to aid in the speedy recovery of our downtown 
  • Attract new business and investments in new and emerging fields 
  • All new projects capital should be built with eye towards building and innovating for the future 
  • Continue the path towards reconciliation. As proud member of the Metis Nation of Alberta, I would look forward to taking up the mantle from Ward Sutherland who was great advocate for Indigenous relations in the city and province

Accessible, Responsible Representation

Somewhere along the way, it seems that politicians at all levels, have forgotten that their role is to represent the people and communities that elected them.

I believe City Council should know when to lead, support, or get out of the way. Through your advice and my commitment to responsive, transparent decision-making, we have the potential to accomplish a bold, progressive vision for Ward 12 and all of Calgary

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  • Regular online town hall meetings, replaced with in-person as allowed
  • Work with businesses, all community associations to support innovation and grassroots solutions
  • Work to create communities that would celebrate Calgary as a diverse community that welcomes everyone

Support Local Small Business

Small and Local Businesses are the pillar of any community, and that is no exception in the communities of Ward 12. We need to eliminate barriers to not only make it easier to start a small business, but also to see them thrive. There is a culture change that needed in order to make this happen, and it needs to start at the top and then work its way down through the city Administration.

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  • Small businesses are the pillar of our communities and need support from all levels of government
  • Every interaction with a city department should begin with a mindset of getting to yes efficiently and quickly. 
  • Need to eliminate barriers to make it easier to start a small business in Calgary 
  • Explore incentive program intended to drive traffic to bricks and mortar local small businesses 
  • Additional support for restaurants and bars that have suffered mightily during the pandemic. 
  • Reduce red tape to ease recovery for small business as we focus on the pandemic recovery

Collaboration and Team Building

My entire career in the private sector has revolved around working with several different stakeholders working towards a common goal. As your representative in Council, I would rely on my experience to ensure Calgarians are getting a fair deal from our provincial and federal government partners. Regardless of who is in power.

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  • Work with my partners in Council to ensure the needs of Ward 12 are clearly established so we can find ways to work together to achieve those goals.
  • Regular meetings with community leaders to ensure the needs to the community are being addressed. 
  • Work closely with the City Administration to ensure the needs of the tax payers are driving all decisions being made.