Developers calling the tune to get what suits them, not what suits the town, has been evident throughout the reign of the current town council of Qualicum Beach.
Public meeting after public meeting, the citizens have stated their concerns, which have consistently been contravened by these three members of Qualicum Beach town council: Mary Brouilette, Bill Luchtmeijer and Dave Willie.
You can be sure that citizens who show up at public meeting after public meeting to set forth their concerns also vote. Therefore, to say these citizens do not represent the whole town is ignoring the fact that they do represent the town’s voters.
Democracy is not a spectator sport. To scorn citizens’ participation, now and in the past when citizens created the OCP, is to display an arrogant ignorance for which there is a cure: a cure that will be demonstrated in the municipal election this fall.
I urge you to become informed about what has happened to our town since the election in November 2011. These three councillors have made changes to the OCP and have changed height restrictions on new construction in the village core.
We the citizens now pay the development cost charges on downtown village projects, rather than the developer. And then there was the recent sham of pretending one meeting, with fewer than 50 participants, was some kind of review of our OCP.
These are just a few of the many changes made ostensibly for the town’s citizens by these three councillors.
Now is the time to begin forming questions to ask when candidates knock on your door, at all-candidate meetings and in the newspaper. Ask about:
• Their vote behaviour in contradiction to the intelligent, coherent, logical and impassioned presentations of citizens;
• Which additional areas of the OCP and other town laws they plan to skewer if re-elected?
We the citizens have the responsibility to elect a council that represents us and is responsive to us. That can only happen through our own due diligence.
Let us continue our citizen responsibility by preparing for an election of substance. Remember that council is formed of the elected representatives of the people.
Lois Eaton
Qualicum Beach