I refer to two specific letters in the PQB News on Jan. 22. One by Deborah McKinley and the other by Graham Riches.
Both make excellent points. It’s obvious that councils of the day are guided if not told what to do by staff, who themselves appear to be at the beck and call of developers, delivering to council just exactly what these developers tell them to do. Money talks and the wishes of we residents and tax payers, are in effect, told to “take a walk!”
It’s tragic really, yet what’s more tragic than the RDN of Nanaimo’s densification and development platform throughout the ‘entire region’, is the voters’ lack of appetite to challenge, en masse, these foreseeable changes.
I am a newcomer to Island living. I grew up and lived in North Vancouver until July of 2016. My childhood, adolescence and adult life were spent on the North Shore. During my adult years, I witnessed mass densification taking place.
When is enough… enough? Change and growth is acceptable, however when does this rate of growth reach a tipping point, and become too much… too quick?
I and many others say ‘now’! However, talking about it does nothing. In order to affect change, we must change our tactics. Letters are soon discarded, as today’s headlines become tomorrow’s garbage.
To affect change requires a visual experience. To show up in numbers to council chambers or a rally for a cause, should still get the attention of the media, that is if they are still capable of remaining neutral and will honestly and thoroughly present both sides of the argument. Without this open and fair representation of the public’s opinions, our faith in media is tarnished.
And sadly, as stated in the articles I’m writing about, surely your actions do beg the question … “are you no longer a fair and balanced news source, and just a mouthpiece for developers and development?”
Colin Thompson
Bowser