Category Archives: Municipal

Municipal

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These photographs were taken at 5PM on Tuesday October 26, 2010.

Can you find the “Traffic Pattern Change”?

Yes the road markings, the lines, painted onto the road to direct traffic flow are now gone rather than merely faded into obscurity. Given that road markings/lines that are hard to see in the day and invisible at night or in rain are the norm rather than the exception on roads in the City of Abbotsford the fact that the road markings are now gone does not constitute a “Traffic Pattern Change”. Driving on roads made dangerous by the poor quality or missing road markings/lines is certainly not a NEW condition in Abbotsford.

Of course this is the same intersection that had signs warning drivers to expect delays while the work of repaving this short section was being done.

Although I suppose that one could argue that technically a detour results in a delay in getting where you are going – especially when it is a total surprise sprung on drivers only when they reached the top of the hill on Blueridge (at Ridgeview) forcing them to turn around and seek other routes to their destinations.

If the goal was to cause problems, have people arrive late at their destination and to annoy as many drivers as possible – Abbotsford City Hall was very successful.

While a traffic pattern change will likely appear, it is this careless inattention to detail – be it road signage, planning, budgeting or the consequences of council’s actions on taxpayers – that has city council giving away future revenue to bring in revenue today; working to grow Abbotsford, thus increasing demand for water, at the same time the city rations water use to have water for the Fire Department to fight fires with and has the city burdened with debt at a time it needs to invest $200+ million in the water delivery system.

Emily Dickinson was quite correct when she said “If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves. You can gain more control over your life by paying closer attention to the little things.”

The little things like asking your local MP for funding for Plan A instead of complaining that the city got no federal funding or ensuring an adequate water supply before increasing demand – or the need for severe rationing.

Federal, Issues, Media, Municipal, Provincial

Action speaks louder than words

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For years I have watched as businesses, organizations and other assemblages in Abbotsford, some of which one would have expected more character or compassionate behaviour from, have erected fences and gates on doorways, stairways, walkways, overhangs or other locations were the homeless had sought shelter from the relentless rain of our rainforest/rain-coast weather.

I have listened as governments, politicians, businessmen, unions, churches and people have all spoken about the need to do something about homelessness and poverty – or more accurately the need for SOMEONE ELSE to do something; pointing fingers and declaring it was not their responsibility.

Listened as people and assemblages evoked ‘undeserving’ and other such rationalizations as excuses for turning away from the need for action; ignoring the truth that action or inaction is not about the people in need but about us – our character, the essences of our souls/spirituality, the very nature of the society we have chosen to build.

Watched Abbotsford politicians scramble to say the right words, utter the proper catch phrases and language, while failing to provide leadership on housing – all the while managing NOT to have any affordable rental housing built or even break ground while the communities around Abbotsford have been building affordable rental housing.

Heard ad nauseum from Abbotsford’s politicians that they have no money to invest in housing that poor and homeless citizens can afford to rent; yet these same politicians have $millions$ to spend to buy a professional hockey team for a local hotelier and other wealthy (and housed) citizens.

Watched the gnashing and gnarring of teeth as people, politicians et al wring their hands and denounce society as defective, deficient. As thought the ills of society have no connection to or do not result from the choices made, actions taken (and untaken) of people. Our society did not, does not, spring from a void or the choices and actions of some mysterious group of ‘others’.

Society is the consequence of the additive effect of the choices and actions we all make and or take. Leaving one pondering whether people will ever understand that our society will not improve until we as individuals begin to ‘Let it begin with me’.

Pondering whether poverty and homelessness and other social ills will continue to grow and worsen as people, politicians, businesses, organizations, other assemblages seek to blame others and avoid taking personal responsibility for their choices and actions and the consequences of those and actions – and inactions.

Still, today …

B is one of the homeless living on the streets of Abbotsford. He had been taking shelter under the overhang at a warehouse that had remained empty since it was completed, but which had recently been leased.

As part of managing the move into this new location P had become aware that B was living sheltered by the building and had spoken with B about his situation, the realities of B’s life.

There were no demands that B leave the shelter provided him by the building; no fences or gates to deny B access to the shelter provided by the building; no calls to city hall demanding the city, the police, remove B.

Instead P provided a home for B. Looking at it most people would see a garden shed; unless they looked through B’s eyes or the eyes of those who are or have been homeless. There is drainage, a solid floor, a roof and walls proof against wind, rain and snow that will keep bedding, clothing, other belongings as well as a body dry.

There was no declaration that it was not his responsibility; no screaming about the need for SOMEONE ELSE to do something; no pointing of fingers to assign blame; no wringing of hands about the need for a ‘solution’. P simply took action and provided shelter for B.

Homelessness, addiction, mental illness are people problems and as such they are complex and troublesome issues without fast, easy solutions; looking for a miracle, arguing about who is responsible – someone else – and waiting for someone else to do something allow these problems to grow.

There are numerous best practices that we know work to address various aspects of these social issues; we know that we can, over time, reduce the numbers of homeless, addicts and mentally ill on our streets.

If we commit to addressing these issues, commit to doing what it takes for however long it takes, we can deal with these issues.

The key is, as P did, not to dither but to act.

Caveat emptor, Municipal

HST – Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives

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Thwart Democracy

Watching the evening news on Wednesday September 8, 2010 and listening to the NDP and anti-HST petition organizer Chris Delaney the only conclusion a rational person could draw is that if is anyone is seeking to “thwart democracy” and “not to do the people’s will”, as Mr. Delaney accused the Liberals of, it is Mr. Delaney and NDP who seek to force the government to bow to their will and deny myself and the majority of BC voters the right to have any say in the HST.

NDP MLA Rob Fleming stated “We’ll be looking for a way to correct course and have democracy play a role and allow ordinary British Columbians to speak through their elected representatives on their feelings about the HST.”

It comes as no surprise that a member of the NDP, indeed the NDP party of BC itself, is so math challenged that he, or they, cannot perform the simple math to determine that only 22% of ordinary British Columbians (those who signed the anti-HST petition) have had an opportunity to speak and that the large majority of ordinary British Columbians 78% – have not had an opportunity to express their feelings about the HST.

After all the NDP party and caucus is calling for the return of the $1.6 billion the federal government paid to BC to implement the HST at the same time the NDP propose to spend hundreds of millions more dollars on Education and Healthcare.

Cut $1.6 Billion out of the 2011 budget while increasing the 2011 budget by an unknown number of hundreds of millions of dollars of spending on Education and Healthcare. And the NDP wonder why anyone with any financial common sense won’t vote for the party as it is currently constituted. Still it is this kind of nonsense that explains how the NDP can think that it is proper to act on the 22% who signed the anti-HST petition and ignore the wishes of the 78% who DID NOT sign the anti-HST petition.

As to Mr. Vander Zalm, Mr Delaney and the other anti-HST petition organizers, Mr. Delaney himself announced in August that the 705,643 signatures collected represented only 22 % of those eligible to vote in the 2009 election.

Apparently to Mr. Vander Zalm, Mr Delaney and the other anti-HST petition organizers the will of the 78% large majority of British Columbians who did not sign the anti-HST petition does not count because they don’t agree with Mr. Vander Zalm, Mr. Delaney and the anti-HST forces.

Those who, while not totally enamoured of the HST, feel that given the financial realities facing the province, the BC government had no reasonable option but to accept the $1.6 billion dollar bribe from the federal government and/or have to much common sense to call for cutting $1.6 billion out of the 2011 BC budget in order to repeal the HST and repay the $1.6 billion in federal funds paid to BC for implementing the HST.

Should the Liberal government opt to send the petition to referendum to determine how the 78% majority of voters who have not yet had an opportunity to express their views on the HST feel, what then?

Anti-HST petition organizer Chris Delaney threatened Liberal MLAs with “being the target of recall campaigns this fall if the committee opts to send the petition to a referendum.”

According to Mr. Delaney, Liberal MLAs are to ignore the wants or opinions of the 78% majority on the HST question and bow to the wants of the 22% minority under threat of recall.

In threatening Liberal MLAs with recall if they opt to seek to hear from the 78% majority that has not been heard from in the HST debate it is Mr. Vander Zalm, Mr. Delaney and the anti-HST forces who seek to thwart democracy; wanting MLAs not to do the people’s will, but the will of only Mr. Vander Zalm, Mr. Delaney and the anti-HST forces.

Mr. Vander Zalm, Mr. Delaney, Carole James, the NDP and the anti-HST forces seek to have their will enforced over the people’s will as represented by the as yet unheard from 78% majority.

If we are going to have government by referendum, which is the road we have started down with the anti-HST petition, then to protect democracy by learning what the will of all the people is, we must hold a province wide referendum and permit the 78% of the voters who DID NOT sign the anti-HST petition am opportunity to voice their position on the HST.