Ipsos Reid survey

The Ipsos Reid survey results are in and 61.9% of residents in Tsawwwassen are in favour of maintaining agricultural zoning for the Southlands. The business community were 60.4 % in favour of change.

The full results of the survey are available online at the Corporation of Delta’s website and they are certainly interesting to read

The follow up to the Southlands question asking what percentage of land should be left for Delta to administer was a compelling number. The largest number of respondants suggested that Delta should retain less than half of the property.

So now what? Governments can take the information from polls and surveys and weigh them with other issues that are generally made to them as a matter of their general duties.

Unfortunately the majority of the public does not have all of the information at their disposal to make informed decisions. They can vote with emotion easily. That is why we elect people to represent us and do all of the grunt work.

If we expect our elected officials to govern by survey and polls why don’t we just do away with the election process all together and vote on every single issue that comes along in some sort of online issues bank?

Think of the money it would save! Think of the chaos it would create is more like it.

There have been some interesting e-mails floating around the past few days that suggest that the community has spoken and that “any council members who are not willing, committed or respectful of the public's position regarding development can , .... step down, resign, quit and leave.”

That’s nice.....anarchy in the making. Another speaks to the hard work of the TAPC and councils interpretation of the Ipsos results....”to now consider that their committee is somehow more knowledgeable than the will of 5,500 residents is appalling.”

I would think that the committee is far more knowledgable of planning issues than the average citizen and to think otherwise is “appalling”.

The process that is in place works and on the Canada Day long weekend we should get over ourselves for a few minutes to appreciate what our governors do for us.

Life is pretty good even in hard done by Tsawwassen where a steady stream of negativety permeates at every turn by malcontents across the spectrum.

If this incarnation of a Southlands proposal is not approved by council do you think that the landowner will wait and try again another time. I don’t know the answer to this but I can hazard a guess that the answer would be no. Rather, I would think that Century Group would sell the land.

The buyer? A developer or land speculator? Perhaps. An agricultural interest. Maybe.

Speaking to a couple of well known farmers recently it would seem that there would be necessity for some costly infrastructure to be deployed to consider “traditional’ farming.

There are other types of agriculture that could be undertaken for sure. Think of the possibilities!

Happy Canada Day weekend everyone.