Canmore Recognized Again

Canmore recognized for sustainable development practices


Canmore Leader: 27 May 2009
Posted By Hamish MacLean/hamish@canmoreleader.com

Early next month the Town of Canmore will be recognized for its innovative, and fairly new, process that attempts to wed all development to the development of a sustainable town.

The Sustainability Screening Reports (SSRs) introduced by the town roughly a year-and-a-half ago have garnered the attention of a national group of municipal managers.

The 38th Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) conference will be held in the first days of June in Whistler, B.C.

The theme of this year is one that Canmore has been focusing on for a little while itself now as well: “Embracing Sustainability: Rising to the challenge through leadership.”

According to thenaturalstep.org, Whistler, B.C. was the first town in Canada to implement the “community-wide engagement program” known as “the natural step.”

Canmore was the second.

In Whistler, Canmore’s mayor, Ron Casey will be presented with the 2009 Willis Award for Innovation for a process that came out of the natural step itself.

“This is just a new approach to development that is unique to Canmore,” Casey said. “We’re asking developers to demonstrate a ‘net benefit’ to the community. And that seems like a pretty basic principle, but it’s a question of, ‘Is it often asked of people?’”

The SSR process has raised some controversy in town.

The Canmore Leader wrote in an editorial, “Council right in tweaking SSR process,” May 7, 2009, “ . . . the ambiguity surrounding the SSR has resulted in a great deal of frustration and confusion.”

But it would seem that some, if not all, of that frustration and confusion has dissipated.

“We can always learn and we can always make it better, but as a first step and as an initial program we’re very happy with it,” Casey said.

The CAMA mission statement reads, “CAMA strives to provide professional development in municipal management while making every effort to ensure both short and long term results for the bottom line of our respective municipalities.”

2008’s Conference was held in Québec City, Que. and celebrated the theme “Preserving our legacy.”

The Willis Award winner for Innovation in towns with a population of less than 20,000 was Leduc, Alta., which was recognized for a road reconstruction that involved recycling the majority of the asphalt from the road that was reconstructed, or replaced.