| Re: "Casual labour conundrum," by Wes LaFortune, City, February 01-07, 2007.
Rather than as a blight, the existence of Cash Corner should be viewed as the sign of a vibrant city that is a place of opportunity for everyone. Unfortunately, Calgary’s relentless pursuit of a municipal sanitization in the name of downtown gentrification and development proves that unorthodox business such as (takes place at) Cash Corner has no place in our commercial world.
Madeline King’s so called fears about supporting the cash economy speak volumes about a continued paternalistic bourgeois attitude from city council, which asserts that citizens of Calgary who earn a living in non-conforming ways must be drug-dependent, financially irresponsible men that can’t take care of themselves. Nothing could be further from the truth. In a city where business rules, it’s ironic that steps are afoot to limit casual labourers. Didn’t I just read about a severe labor shortage?
The reality is there is no cash corner conundrum — the threat is not the man on the street, but rather the on-going gentrification of a one-size-fits-all downtown and the misguided perception that guys looking for work are up to no good.
To me, this all comes down to a few important questions. Is it possible to navigate the different spaces of our city? Is propertied citizenship the only kind that really matters in Calgary? Or, is there a way for all of us to co-exist?
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