I read with great interest the Downtown Investment Plan for Downtown Edmonton.

I support completely the vision for a revitalized Downtown in Edmonton. I want to see the upgrades, the cleaning, the increased residential numbers, the reduction in vacancy rates and all of the other great elements in the report. And I fully agree that downtown Edmonton, more than any other part of the province, requires this injection of capital.

But the devil is in the details. Especially the details about where the money comes from to pay for these upgrades.

We need our provincial counterparts to step up and make the investments with the City of Edmonton. We need to extend the Community Revitalization Levy (CRL). Without these two actions, the $400 million plus price tag for this project is simply too much for Edmonton Taxpayers.

Recently, Calgary was gifted over $300 million for the creation of a “Entertainment District” North of Stampede Park, around their new entertainment centre. That amount, coupled with the CRL extension is a simple way to pay for these enhancements.

The solution is at hand. We can implement this report, but only if our provincial counterparts work with us and grant us the same investment as they did Calgary and we extend the CRL.

I will work tirelessly to attain this, but I will not subject Edmonton taxpayers to endless new projects without new revenue sources.