Archive - Jan 2006

A new Minority Government. This time, more than the last, the media, newly elected officials and pundits are touting the "C" word in a big way.

"Collaboration" amongst political parties in the hopes of providing effective governance for all of us? Too much of a Utopian concept I am afraid. We demand it from our Governments but we can't do it ourselves. What a bunch of hypocrites we are!

Why should we expect 3 or 4 federal political parties to collaborate when we can't get consensus on issues as citizens in our local communities? We have to set the example from the grassroots. We have to show politicians how to work together otherwise we will continue to run the treadmill like so many jaded hamsters.

Take Delta for example. One of the big issues in Delta that could use a collaborative effort is economic development. Despite polls that suggest a majority of Deltans' support economic development in our community, we continue to butt heads with each other and our elected officials instead of hashing out solutions. Believe it or not, we can all benefit from attentive economics when they are applied to environmental situations. It's been typical to see environmentalists recoil in horror at the mention of commerce but economics is evolving and new economists recognize that the environment has to be incorporated into fiscal modelling." Free Market Forces" are not the tried and true models they once were. There are lots of words and phrases that describe this realization; Smart Growth, sustainability, etc. A well respected economist recently wrote... "environmentalists can profit - if I dare link these words together - from the direction economics is moving".

I'm a little nervous, and it's not because I haven't finished my Christmas shopping. In her innagural speech as newly elected Mayor, Lois Jackson stated that one of the first orders of business would be to deal with the Fireworks bylaw. Excuse me? Worse, after citing the usual plethora of items that are still on the table and will be for an eternity if someone doesn't do something, our Mayor has expressed her concern for "Global Warming" and has refered to it as a "priority" for her Government for the next three years. Apparently our Mayor has decided to jump on the Kyoto bandwagon, an initiative that is almost dead before it really started. I don't need David Suzuki for my mayor. I want someone to deal with the damn highway traffic!

The pseudo- science around 'Global Warming" has got bigger faults in it than the San Andreas. Fashionable this stuff though! Lo-J wants to protect our trees and "plant more to mitigate temperature change". Nice thought I suppose, and I like trees...a lot. Some of them make excellent lumber, but seriously, "mitigate temperature change?"

I keep hearing from fellow commuters on the 602 each morning that the new RAV line will be diverting existing 601-2-3-4 folks from there non-stop trip to downtown Van to a new Skytrain station in Richmond. Say it ain't so!! Do we take a trip that takes us 1.25 to 1.5 hours each day and add another 20-30 minutes on to it? (Yah, yah - I know, you folks from Langley and Abby don't have much sympathy with your daily treks.)

Has anyone else heard this? Can we not make a stand on this? Do we have a voice in this matter?

And yes I do love transit with all my heart but I can't bare the thought of veering into Richmond every day so that we can maximize ridership on a new RAV.

What will 2006 bring? I would hope that some of our local issues get some closure soon. I'd really like to see the transportation issue make some real headway this year.

I'd also like to see the farmers market envisioned by the TBA get some legs. Why would people come to Tsawwassen as a destination? The only reason I can think of is Boundary Bay Regional Park and access to the water at Centennial Beach. Surely this attraction can be expanded upon. Why not have the farmers market in an environment that showcases the beauty of our region as opposed to a parking lot setting?

Would the environmentalists freak if a farmers market took place at the east end of the Southlands lands or in the Regional Park itself?

I'd like to hear from someone who is opposed to a market in or around Bound