We Can’t Afford Business As Usual Attitude at City Hall

 

 

 

District of Squamish is in a state of transformation on a number of measures including economic, cultural and social demographics. In the coming term, council faces challenges in responding to and capitalizing on this transformation.

A top priority for Council during the upcoming term is to develop a proactive strategy and plan for honouring the vision of the Official Community Plan, which proclaims among other things that  “We are leaders in fostering social integrity, economic development, and environmental sustainability”.

At present I don’t see our community on trajectory to meet this honourable and lofty goal.

The answers to the issues that face our community such as poverty, food security, falling municipal revenues, a lack of economic diversity, and ambiguous environmental stewardship lie within our community and its leadership. 

We can’t depend on our Provincial or Federal legislators to provide the answers, nor to act in our best interests as a community.

Governments do not innovate, nor can they be expected to do so; rather their role is to facilitate and support innovation.  Once the froth of the election settles, council needs to quickly set a clear vision and goals for how it can (i) streamline bureaucracy and administrative processes to prioritize and facilitate innovation; and (ii) facilitate and support social and economic development in our community, with clear and decisive reference to the collective vision of our Official Community Plan.     

As a community we can no longer afford a “business as usual” or “business at any cost” attitude to our community’s socio-economic wellbeing.  In the fitting words of Elijah Dann recently, “it’s time for Squamish to grow a pair”.