On Thursday Nov 18, I witnessed a remarkable thing.  Mayor Naheed Nenshi made his first business address to a sold out Calgary Chamber of Commerce lunch at the Palliser.  He delivered a compelling, sincere and focused message of wanting to address many of the challenges and issues that businesses face in doing business with and in the city of Calgary.  While I don’t often speak on behalf of 400 people, I think it is safe to say that he knocked that one out of the park.

The take-away for me is that there is commitment from our new civic leadership to deal with the frustrations and challenges that get many companies throwing their hands in the air and saying “it’s just not worth it.”  It won’t be easy, but the will is there.  And as a business community it is incumbent upon us to support that initiative in order to deliver a Calgary that truly is the best place to start, grow and operate a business.

One of the greatest roles that the Calgary Chamber can play is to work with the City of Calgary and City Council to understand what aspects of working with and in the city are inefficient and costly.

To help us with that, respond here with your thoughts of business issues, challenges, frustrations, red tape, cost over-runs or barriers, and other matters that make doing business in and with the city a situation where you wonder whether the frustration is worth the outcome.