The days of hosting Fred Eaglesmith, Corb Lund, Matt Anderson and Stephen Fearing are over for the Jasper Legion.
Following Sunday night鈥檚 performance by Canadian reggae-rock stars Big Sugar, the local music venue and non-profit organization has called it quits on big name acts, in hopes of remaining financially sustainable into the future.
鈥淲ith the bigger shows, we take a risk鈥攍ike with any other business鈥攖o make money. But we just don鈥檛 have the security anymore, it鈥檚 at the point where we can鈥檛 afford to take that risk,鈥� said Ken Kuzminski, president of the legion.
Over the last eight years, the Jasper Legion has become a mainstay for music in the community, attracting both big and small acts from across the country.
But since 脡cole Desrochers moved out of the building in 2014, the non-profit has struggled to make ends meet, as it鈥檚 searched for a new tenant to take over the space鈥攁nd, more importantly, the rent.
The issue is that, like most legions in Canada, the building is zoned institutional, limiting what the space can be used for.
Discretionary uses for institutional lands include everything from community recreational facilities to childcare facilities, government services, public education services, public libraries, religious assemblies, special needs housing, staff accommodation and utility services.
There have been a few suggestions for the space, but they have all been rejected by Parks Canada as being outside the acceptable uses of institutional land.
Currently, the legion is waiting to hear from Grande Prairie Regional College, which is interested in opening a culinary school in the space but that wait has been going on for over a year. In the meantime the legion has continued paying for utilities and the upkeep of the space, while also losing out on revenue from uncollected rent.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the waiting and waiting and waiting for something to hopefully happen that has put us in this position,鈥� said Kuzminski. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to find different ideas to keep the place open and keep it relevant in the community, but that鈥檚 a full time job in itself.鈥�
The Legion started hosting music in 2007 as a way of getting people through the doors. At that time the space was empty 90 per cent of the time and the non-profit was in desperate need of income.
Kuzminski started by renovating the bar and building a stage. Then he invited local bands to come in and play. Following the success of local acts, Kuzminski began attracting regional bands that were passing through on their way to gigs in British Columbia or Edmonton, and before he knew it, the legion was attracting crowds of 80 to 100 people on days when the space would otherwise be closed.
Over the years, the legion has hosted everyone from Lindi Ortega to Tim Hus, The Mahones, Prairie Oyster and Del Barber, just to name a few.
For Kuzminski, it鈥檚 been a dream come true watching the legion turn into a well known and respected venue. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so disappointing to have to throw in the towel.
鈥淚 get quite emotion thinking about it or even talking about it. The amount of time and effort I鈥檝e put into this to make the legion viable and make the music scene viable in Jasper...鈥� he said, trailing off.
鈥淚t took awhile to even get people into the legion鈥攖o get people to the door. I鈥檝e worked hard to get it to the point where the legion belongs to the community and is a part of the community.鈥�
Kuzminski said he鈥檚 already cancelled a few shows that were scheduled for January and February, including a performance by Canadian alternative rock band 54-40.
In its effort to stay afloat, the legion is also continuing to lobby the municipality for exemption from property taxes.
In July, the municipality deferred its collection of commercial tax payments from the Jasper Legion in order to investigate whether or not the non-profit is eligible for exemption.
The legion currently pays commercial taxes on a third of its property, accounting for an annual tax bill of about $6,800. The remaining two-thirds of the building鈥攖he portion where 脡cole Desrochers used to be鈥攊s zoned institutional, exempting it from such taxes.
Although the request for tax exemption is seemingly straight forward, the legislation is actually quite complicated. The Municipal Government Act says Royal Canadian Legions are exempt from municipal property taxes, but it also says that exemption is null and void if the organization has a liquor license, which the Jasper Legion does. There is also additional legislation, referring to the building鈥檚 primary use, complicating the matter even further.
When it deferred the legion鈥檚 taxes in July, the municipality reached out to the province, requesting assistance in interpreting the legislation. Last month it received a reply, but the province said the onus is on the municipality to seek a legal opinion to determine whether the legion fits into the legislation or not.
During the Oct. 27 committee of the whole meeting, council discussed the province鈥檚 response and decided that the responsibility shouldn鈥檛 be on the municipality, but on the legion.
Coun. Vonna Arsenault argued that because tax exemption is in the interest of the legion, and not the municipality, it should be up to the non-profit to pay for legal advice to prove that it鈥檚 eligible.
鈥淲hat I don鈥檛 want to do is have us seek legal advice at our expense,鈥� said Arsenault.
Mayor Richard Ireland agreed.
鈥淚f they think we鈥檙e doing something wrong, let them show us what it is; give us the legal opinion that we鈥檙e wrong and we will either acknowledge that opinion or we will get it vetted by our own lawyers at that point,鈥� said Ireland.
On Nov. 3, council directed administration to inform the legion that it will not be seeking a legal opinion.
鈥淭he ball is in the legion鈥檚 court,鈥� said Coun. Gilbert Wall.
Nicole Veerman
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