Cochrane takes another look at big box stores downtown

Hundreds of people gathered in Cochrane Thursday night to debate a proposal that would bring big box stores to the bedroom community near Calgary.
Cochrane's bylaws don't allow big stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot to operate in the centre of town, but a developer wants to turn a contaminated industrial site into a modern shopping complex.
It would be anchored by a big box store four times the size currently allowed under town bylaws.

"I'm concerned that this might slide through," said Gerry Ertel, a 16-year Cochrane resident who spoke against a proposed development.
"I'd rather have no development than the wrong development on that land."
Steven Grossick, president of the Cochrane and District Chamber of Commerce, said the rules need to change because local shops lose money when people go to big box stores in Calgary.

"They are probably going to gas up their car, they are going to buy some food. So that large item they were going to purchase becomes a few hundred dollars and it's quite significant."
Teacher Stephanie Bennett disagrees, saying people shop in Cochrane because of its small-town feel.

Bennett says building a Costco, Rona or Superstore downtown would change that.
"Having those big box developments at that end of town, it wouldn't encourage people to go to our main street, which is one of our main tourist attractions."
Bennett says any development on the site should include residential buildings, parkland and space for light industry.

Cochrane's town council will make a decision on the development in March.

Okotoks chamber, mayor applaud big box

In the meantime, the mayor and a small business owner in an Alberta town to the south say Cochrane should embrace the big box.
Okotoks residents were also worried about losing their small-town flavour when a developer proposed a shopping complex five years ago with a Wal-Mart.

But that's not what happened, said Beth Kish, president of the local chamber.
"Instead, the town has grown from it. We receive people coming to shop here from a much broader range.

Our downtown has really reinvented itself."
Kish runs the Simple Solutions Design Studio and says customers come to Okotoks for the big box shopping, but stay for the town's restaurants and other stores. After an initial slowdown, she says her business is now better than ever.

The mayor of Okotoks even credits the big boxes for bringing in new residents.
"I think it's been a real boon to attracting new people to move to this community," said Bill McAlpine.

The United States has not lifted its restrictions on Mahar Arar, even though the Canadian government apologized to him on Friday and offered him a $10.

5 million compensation package.

More NATO soldiers are heading to Afghanistan to reinforce the fight against Taliban militants, the alliance said Friday.

Iraqi militants posing as American security guards captured and killed four U.

S. soldiers, the Associated Press reported Friday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered a formal apology Friday to Maher Arar, along with $10.

5 million in compensation. Arar said the package will allow him to put his struggle behind him.

The Canadian navy is pulling three ships out of planned NATO exercises off Nova Scotia next week, citing a lack of funding.

A multibillion-dollar settlement for aboriginal students who attended residential schools is now stalled, a lawyer with the federal government says.

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Surgeries in at least two of Canada's largest hospitals have been cancelled because of bed shortages and other problems that are affecting health-care facilities across the country, administrators say.

There is no evidence that drinking moderate amounts of caffeine during pregnancy leads to premature births or underweight babies, a trial suggests.

Celebrated opera collaborators John Estacio and John Murrell are set to raise the curtain on their latest full-length work, Frobisher, in Calgary this weekend.

The Virgin Festival concert series adds a new stop in Vancouver this year, with a lineup that includes the Killers, My Chemical Romance, Billy Talent, Muse, AFI and Victoria's own Hot Hot Heat.

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Boeing has scrapped plans for a wireless entertainment system on its new 787 "Dreamliner," about eight months before the plane's first scheduled flight.

IBM Corp.

on Friday said it was donating software that would let people hide personal information online to a public interest project based in Ottawa.

Microsoft Corp. on Friday said it was investigating reports of a so-called "zero-day" vulnerability in a version of its word processing software that could let an attacker hijack a computer.

Rocky labour negotiations between Xstrata PLC and unionized workers at its Sudbury nickel operations helped push the price for the metal to record highs again on Friday.

Shares of aluminum products maker Novelis Inc. soared Friday after it said it is in talks "with various parties" that could lead to the sale of the company.

L.L. Bean, the Maine-based outdoor gear retailer, says it wants to significantly increase its presence in Canada.

Canada's privacy commissioner says she will recommend legislation making it mandatory for companies to report security breaches.

Parents struggling to find day care may find the hunt even tougher when a provincial subsidy for non-accredited centres runs out at the end of March, the president of the Daycare Society of Alberta says.

A storm prompted Air Canada on Friday afternoon to ground flights at St.

John's International Airport.

Unseeded Serena Williams upset top seed Maria Sharapova Saturday to win the women's final of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

Alexander Frolov scored at 1:48 of overtime to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks Friday.

The Toronto Raptors held on to defeat the Boston Celtics by a score of 96-90 at the Air Canada Centre on Friday night to level their overall record at 22 wins and 22 losses.