Many have heard the story of the five-year-old in Britain who was fined nearly CAD$200 for a lemonade stand that she was operating without a permit. Most reasonable people would shake their head and scoff at the notion that such a venture would need any kind of licence to operate. After the disbelief would likely come the serious question of how does a society become so over regulated that a five-year-old can be fined for anything? The answer is baby steps. It happens when the notion of equality becomes so skewed that it is applied without common sense or merit. It happens when someone looks at a lemonade stand and sees a business instead of an activity to keep bored kids busy over the summer while teaching valuable skills. It happens when bureaucrats fall so out of touch with reality they think teens mowing the neighbours' lawns need to pay a licensing fee -- a fee that will likely match or exceed how much they will earn. Over the years, children in Cochrane have also used a variety of what would now be considered a "mobile vendor" under the proposed changes to the business bylaw to help raise money for a variety of causes to help members of the community. Why would council want to squash those activities and consequently those opportunities for character building by adding a level of red tape and expense that is so unnecessary it is absurd? The fact that town council is even discussing this notion is perplexing. It is of even greater concern that only three councillors voted against the proposed changes to the business bylaw without first addressing that possible loophole. What possible reasoning could anyone have to think that a guy with a guitar and a hat or a kid with a lawnmower should have to pay a licensing fee? Town administrators have asked council to provide direction on the "grey areas" that would exempt mobile businesses from the amended bylaw. Clarity? Why? Do we have bands of children marauding the town stealing income from professional landscapers? Are restaurants with lemonade on the menu going broke as they deal with the increased competition from the kiddos? Are there hordes of musicians cramming historic downtown with hats overflowing like a leprechaun's pot of gold? We are confident that the answer to all of the above is a resounding no and we hope we made it sound ridiculous to match council's discussion around the issue. There are no "grey areas," there never have been and that is why it has never been an issue. Nothing is worse than a government that goes searching for problems to fix. The result is usually an unfair tax, an unnecessary law and the creation of problems where they did not exist.
