City council can't approve major pipelines, but it has other levers for job creation

Forget snow removal and garbage collection, this election should be about the economy. So argues many of the 8.5 per cent who are unemployed in Calgary.

But the powers of a municipal government are limited, so what can the incoming, new city council do about jobs?

A lot, actually.

Can the city directly create jobs?

The city has been front-loading a lot of infrastructure work, promoting big projects as an effective way to put Calgarians back to work.

The city even ran an ad campaign about it,directing job seekers to apply online.

The argument goes: labour costs are down, and people need jobs. So why not start digging now?

Politicians tout it as a "win-win" solution, but some economists are skeptical of the second "win."

• FULL COVERAGE FROM CBC CALGARY|Calgary election 2017
• Calgary election 2017: Where to vote, who the candidates are and everything else you need to know

"I applaud what the government is doing. This is a good idea," says Ron Kneebone, economist with the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy. "But they shouldn't be claiming they're creating jobs."

When the city forges ahead with future projects, Kneebone says it's merely moving jobs aroundhiring people now rather than later, while also assuming risks of the future.

"Governments don't create jobs,they can move jobs around over time," says Kneebone. "Wealth is generated by the private sector,individuals taking gambles and risks to develop resources and create jobs."

The less sexy part of job creation: permits and zoning

But here's something you'll never see in a City of Calgary ad:

"We've made the environmental restoration part the building permit application a lot easier to complete!"

It's the less sexy part of job creation. But bureaucracies around permits, licences and land use matter.

Because while Calgary may not have the power to approve pipelines outside city limits, it sure can stop a Domino's Pizza from opening in a trendy neighbourhood; or a condo developer from bulldozing old, character homes; or a new app from operating in the city.

• Zoning (yes, zoning) could save Calgary's finances
• Are Calgary taxes out of control? The 'dark math' of property taxes explained
• Arena funding debate: A play that always unfolds over several acts

These are pretty significant powers that can stop a business. But the city can also do things to encourage business.

"We do see ways government is recognizing different business models by being flexible," says Zoe Addington, policy director at the Calgary Chamber. "But we also see negative examples."

Addington applauds the city for its handling of ParkPlus, Car2Go and food trucks, but argues the city got too bogged down on ride-sharing services and secondary suites.

"What we hear from businessesone of the most common phrasesis the city's 'threshold for risk,'" she says. "Businesses going in, trying to work with the city,whether it's getting permits or applications, and finding people saying, 'no.'"

'Bob here says you need XYZ, Julie over there says you need ABC'

Business owner Lisa Maric says she experienced the full weight of city bureaucracy when she first applied to open a new store in Marda Loop.

Distilled Beauty Bar & Social House is a coffee shop, beauty salon and wine bar all in onea hybrid business that didn't exist in Calgary until Maric came along with her dozens of applications.

Each model of business food, beauty services and liquor required a host of "licence type" approvals. All had to be examined, each by up to six departments.

Maric cringes at the memory of red tape.

"Bob over here says you need XYZ, Julie over there says you need ABC," she recalls.

"Then you have to figure out how to manage those two because they hand your portfolio back and forth. And so this one says, 'I need this.' And this one says, 'I don't like that' and this one says, 'well you have to.' And then there's,'I don't know.' And you languish sort of in this black void of'just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it.'"

Maric says it all came to a head over a sink in the front of her store,whether it was considered a "hand-washing sink" or "kitchen equipment."

The issue went all the way to a city committee at Calgary City Hall. In the end, she says the committee decided the sink didn't even matter, but not before causing four months of delay to her grand opening in 2016.

"They will license a parking lot with Porta Potties and hay bales for 10 days," Maric says,referencing deregulations around Stampede. "But a beauty bar with a coffeehouse and a full commercial kitchen and everything is a bridge too far!"

'Hell yeah' attitude needed for a vibrant city

From business regulations to secondary suites,it's all the in the attitude of the city, says Colleen Collins, vice-president of the CanadaWest Foundation. And a "hell yeah" attitude is crucial to Calgary's ability to attract new jobs.

"If there's a question of,can we do it? The answer should be, 'Hellyeah,'" says Collins. "Or in the improv world, it's'Yes and.'"

She cites New Westminster, B.C., as an example of a municipality that embodies the spirit of "Hell yeah" by creating a "one-stop shop" for business.

"The City of New Westminster actually started to eat the City of Vancouver's lunch on filmmaking," says Collins. "They realized that one of the biggest barriers was just getting through the many forms."

• High stakes, tough times, open seats: Why this year's Calgary election is one for the books

So the city simplified the application process, and went one step further to help film crews work their magic.

For example, if residents on one street were to complain about the noise from filming, instead of shutting down the crew, city officials would help scout for a new location.

"How regulations are implemented is really a large function of the culture of those who are doing the implementation," says Collins. "It's great that the mayor and council have a positive attitude, but how's that playing out in the folks that are actually writing the tickets, doing the inspections?"

Don't underestimate 'livability'

As Calgary prepares to submit a bid to Amazon to bring the holy grail of 50,000 jobs here, one of the main selling points will be livability.

The Economist magazine has ranked Calgary as the fifth most livable city in the world two years in a row. And that's nothing to sneeze at.

"If we're going to compete on tax,good luck because a lot of cities can do that," says Richard Pootmans, the outgoing councillor for Ward 6. "We have to capture our natural advantages, make sure our tax regime is appealing and at the same time keep our quality of life high."

When it comes to quality of life, no other level of government has a more direct impact on Calgarians than everyday decisions made at city hall.

"The things that we value most from government services are provided at the city level," says Kneebone. "Think of how your life would be different if you didn't have clean water, didn't have a good sewer system, road system. We don't pay attention to them because the city does such a good job of providing them."

So while the city can't wave a wand to create jobs, it sure can allow a music festival to go past 10 o'clock. It also has control over bike lanes (love them or hate them), public art and yes, even the arena all issues related to the livability of Calgary, and therefore job creation.

• MORE CALGARY NEWS |Fight near southwest Calgary high school sends teen to hospital
• MORE CALGARY NEWS |'Breathtakingly uninformed': Nenshi responds to Smith's call to re-evaluate Green Line expansion