Editor:
In recent years, as Banff has been developed into a city, I have often pondered an important question: who actually owns Banff?
A recent Calgary Herald article has revealed an American private equity firm holds a virtual monopoly of ownership control over the largest and most visible attractions in the mountain national parks.
Since the Town of Banff was incorporated in 1990, international private equity firms and investor groups have quietly absorbed many of Banff’s commercial assets – hotels, restaurants and retail locations – without reinvesting profits into critical local infrastructure such as affordable housing, residential neighbourhood improvements and traffic mitigation.
Of course, there are still locally owned businesses in Banff but it is clear that foreign investment is winning the battle.
Who owns Banff? It will require a great deal of expensive research for a private citizen to answer this vital question.
Perhaps the Bow Valley’s only newspaper of record, the Rocky Mountain Outlook, could be persuaded to provide local residents with answers.
Ownership implies responsibility. If Banff taxpayers had a clearer picture of the property and profit structures in the community, I suspect pointless arguments over pedestrian zones would be quickly overshadowed by a more substantive political issue: who has to pay for fixing Banff’s myriad problems?
Banff’s publicly elected town council has been studiously avoiding this discussion. The next time you see Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno, be sure to pop the question: who really owns Banff?
Max Wilkie,
North Vancouver, BC
