CTF applauds Premier Stelmach and Calgary Mayor Bronconnier for their commitment not to spend tax dollars on new NHL arenas

EDMONTON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) thanked both Premier Stelmach and Calgary Mayor Bronconnier for their firm commitments not to put taxpayer dollars into building new NHL arenas in Edmonton and Calgary.

“The Premier seems to understand what Edmonton’s Mayor Mandel does not: that taxpayers do not want their hard earned tax dollars used to construct new facilities for the benefit of NHL team owners and concert promoters,” said CTF-Alberta director Scott Hennig.

A recent poll conducted for Global Edmonton indicated that 76 per cent of Edmontonians are opposed to their tax dollars going to build a new NHL arena. 

“Mayor Bronconnier seems to understand what Mayor Mandel does not, that every single NHL arena constructed in Canada in the past two decades has been built with virtually 100 per cent private funding,” continued Hennig. “Perhaps Mayor Mandel is not aware of this fact because his hand-picked arena committee intentionally removed this vital information from the final draft of the feasibility report.”

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation blew the whistle on these and other pro-tax funding edits made to the final draft of the Edmonton report last summer. (http://www.taxpayer.com/taxpayer/news-archive?news_id=2932)

The CTF is now calling on the province to further commit not to enter into any Community Revitalization Levy (CRL) agreements with either city to help construct new NHL arenas. Under CRL agreements, the city and province shift municipal and education property tax revenues from a designated area to fund new developments (such as NHL arenas). This means taxpayers in the rest of the city and province must pay higher taxes to cover the shortfall.

“Hopefully the Premier will put an end to Mayor Mandel’s tax-shift scheme and prevent taxpayers from paying for a new NHL arena through the backdoor,” concluded Hennig.