Spinning the election numbers: The complete podcast series

If you have paid attention to any of the campaigns during Calgary's upcoming civic election, you may have heard claims about Calgary taxes being out of control, or the Flames leaving if they don't get a deal.

There is no shortage of opinions out there. But what are the actual facts and statistics?

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

Do we pay more tax compared with other cities?Is a half-billion dollars a lot to pay for a new arena?Can the city actually do anything to create jobs?

The Calgary Eyeopenersought to answer those very questions in a series called EyeopenerExtra: Election Issues Explained.

Eyeopenerstaff went down the rabbit hole, so you wouldn't have to.

Check out thesepodcasts and stories from the series before heading to the polls on Oct. 16:

Are Calgary taxes out of control? The 'dark math' of property taxes explained

Calgary has some of the lowest property tax rates in the country, yet many residents and businesses complain their tax bills are out of control.

Those two statements are not as paradoxical as they seem...

Arena funding debate: A play that always unfolds over several acts

By now you've heard all the arguments for why Calgary needs a new hockey arena: the Saddledome is old, the roof sucks, the concourse is too small, Bruno Mars won't play there, whatever.

The City of Calgary seems to agree, at least enough to put forth a proposal on how to fund such a project. The Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation the Flames ownership group has its own counter proposal. But those two are not talking for now.

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...