Delta is Not "Burning Down Around Us"

There is this assumption that all Deltans are feeling oppressed. There are a few loud people in our community who take it upon themselves to instill the state of fear that they believe will somehow turn in to a political front.

The majority of South Deltans probably feel secure and happy in knowing that life is pretty damn good. Social security, public amenity, stable democratic governance are cornerstones of our enviable way of life as Deltans and Canadians no matter what your acronym stands for.

South Delta is a hub for logistical infrastructure that ensures that the benefits of living in Canada are maintained in good and bad economic times.

Locally, it is presently assumed that if you can band-aid enough small special interest groups and acronyms together that somehow this is going to be enough to highjack political will from candidates in the upcoming municipal election.

Politics and governance is not that simple anymore.

Putting out “planks” is old school politicking that has hopefully seen its day. Personal opinions have merit of course, but real and effective governance will come from elected representatives who first of all understand the issue, and secondly make judgment on it based on how it affects the municipality as a whole.

In a letter to the Optimist last Saturday, apparent spokesperson for the Delta Now group Liz Gough said to our candidates (who have enough jam to run by the way!) that they would only succeed if they bought in to the Delta Now platform.

This is ludicrous on many levels not the least of which is that Delta Now and Tri-Delta fail to recognize that politicians and bureaucrats in Delta are sick and tired of being told what to do by a vocal minority.

The recent TGCC public hearings illustrate this perfectly. The majority of our community and council were in favour of the idea of the development. The ALC granted exclusion for the ALR lands in question after careful and thoughtful consideration. That is what they do.

Interesting to note that Mayoral candidate Krista Engelland was against the proposal but just recently was featured on the front page of this paper decrying that there was a “housing crisis” in Delta. Which is it please? Are you confused? Housing is an issue everywhere…not just in North Delta! In fact, housing is the top issue amongst municipalities across BC.

With the exception of Engelland and Vicki Huntington, the rest of our council including housing task force chair Scott Hamilton, agreed that the TGCC proposal should be approved. This would suggest that staff and the clear majority of our elected officials recognize that we are in changing times and that the status quo is not an alternative.

With all due respect to the puppeteers who have hamstrung our community over the past years, it is time for pragmatic on the fly decision making by people who are not afraid of narrow-minded back roomers. It is also clearly time to realize that municipal governors are just that. Let’s not hoodwink the public in to thinking that local officials will be able to do more than advise on provincial or federal matters. It is simply not in the cards and, despite what Delta Now has said, Delta is not “burning down around us”. Rather, it is poised to become even better.