This is only the second letter I have written to the editor — however I feel that I should stand up for my friend and colleague Mary Brouilette, councilor in Qualicum Beach. Y. A. Zarowny’s letter is the ultimate oxymoron (The News, Feb. 22).
Unfortunately we have a few people in Oceanside who think now they have moved here after making a living in another city, they want very selfishly to keep our area all to themselves. They really don’t understand we have a new generation of young people who want jobs and a vibrant place to live.
When I lived in Qualicum 25 years ago we had a population of 4,000 people. We had at that time exactly those same types of people who wanted to put the gates down on both sides of the city and not have any more development. Now Qualicum has 9,000 people and the same attitude from a few is: lets get those gates down. Surely these people have something better to do with their lives than play this same old tune. My suggestion would be to volunteer their idle time and help out these young people who are struggling to make ends meet.
This attitude does more harm than good. I am sure in their minds they don’t see it that way. To have a well rounded community, full of vitality and energy, we must invite in young families and have jobs and opportunity for them.
The Island has a population of only 800,000. If one could live long enough over the next 100 years we will have a population of maybe two million. So one can see how silly this idea of caps on city population really is. I know there will be letters written now about running out of water, food and talk about the destruction of the environment. It is time to get over this paranoia. The world has been going around for hundreds of thousands of years and will continue long after all our now retired people have gone. Our job is to leave a prosperous region for our children and grandchildren, so they might also retire with enough income to survive like those today.
Mary is doing a great job for that town and is not afraid to stand up and be counted, not like many councilors in a great many municipalities, who sit on their hands. We need more councilors like Mary to work on behalf of the entire community to keep their communities moving ahead financially. If we don’t move ahead in a financially stable manner, encouraging good development, supplying work and jobs for our young people, encouraging business opportunities, then our cities and towns will fail. This is a no brainer.
Councillor Al Greir
Parksville