Busking might not be an election issue this October, but it will be an issue that comes up early on in the next council term.
It鈥檚 been a year since Monika Schaefer first asked council to consider and discuss the legalization of busking in town. At the time, the mayor and council said they would discuss it at their next committee meeting.
The issue then fell silent until months later, when the municipality was conducting its community consultation on the public engagement policy. At that time, Christine Nadon, communications manager for the municipality, said busking would be one of the first issues addressed by council following the approval of the policy. That policy was unanimously supported Aug. 6.
Nadon said in an interview last week that busking will be coming to council in the next term, but it won鈥檛 be an individual issue. Rather, council will be considering the use of public spaces as a whole, including, for example, street side cafes in the discussion.
Schaefer, who has played the violin since she was a small child and makes a living both instructing and playing gigs, said she hasn鈥檛 given up on bringing music to Jasper鈥檚 streets. She is hopeful that by next spring she will be able to put out her violin case and bust out a few jigs.
鈥淏usking is a wonderful thing,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou get music and joyfulness in the streets and people enjoy it. The passersby and the people creating the music enjoy it.鈥�
Schaefer suggests council look at Banff鈥檚 model, which includes a licensing program.
鈥淚鈥檓 not just for anybody going out and banging their drums all day,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need to sanction it and formalize it by having a licensing program.鈥�
Currently, busking is illegal in Jasper. The issue is using public spaces for commercial use. To address that issue in Banff, musicians are not allowed to sell their t-shirts or CDs.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 how it鈥檚 differentiated from a business,鈥� explained Nadon.
Peter Waterworth, chief administrative officer for the municipality, and Cathy Jenkins, realty and municipal manager for Parks Canada, have had preliminary discussions about a new approach to public spaces, but their ideas haven鈥檛 yet made it to council or the superintendent for further discussion.
Nadon said there will likely be a substantial public engagement process involved in the decision, as it could affect the community as a whole.
Nicole Veerman
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