"Perspective is necessary. Otherwise there are only two dimensions." - Margaret Atwood
Someone said to me recently that they were upset by a quote attributed to me in a story about the growth pressures to municipalities on the periphery of Metro Vancouver.
In this article, I complimented the new influx of talent moving to Squamish as a great addition to the community, full of energy and entrepreneurialism.
It was her impression that by complimenting newcomers I, by omission, denigrated the people who have lived here for decades.
This was never my intention and far from my perspective.
This person’s experience with newcomers was mostly negative and so she came to one of my Mayor’s drop-in meetings to make her views known to me.
I thank her for the great conversation and for sharing her perspective.
I distinctly remember answering the reporter’s question about the “effect of newcomers” on Squamish knowing that it could be misconstrued, so I was deliberate in qualifying my answer.
Every influx of “newcomers” has brought its own quality and energy to the community vernacular — whether the farming or mining pioneers of the early 1900s, the loggers, mill workers and truckers who created a close-knit community here for decades, or the outdoor adventurers who started to flock to Squamish in the early 1990s (of which I was one) and never really stopped.
And of course, the First Peoples of the Squamish Nation who have had an indelible connection to this place for time immemorial.
But the media can’t possibly include everything you say during an interview; you just hope that the essence of what you are trying to communicate shines through.
Admittedly, I was narrow-minded in my perspective when I first moved here.
I’m from a big city, and I have travelled extensively, I thought, therefore I must know better.
I reflect with fondness the many times I was schooled subtly and not so subtly by the old-timers.
I came to realize that all perspectives were part of the equation and the solution, and I gained a much more fulsome understanding of the different, yet equally important, generational and experiential perspectives of a community.
Change, particularly the pace of change, can be difficult and can feel alienating.
People also move here from more populated places and have a different expectation of services that stems from greater diversity and density in their tax base.
We all bring different perspectives and worldviews to this conversation called Squamish. They are all important and relevant, and above all should be respected and valued.
It doesn’t mean we have to agree all the time but it does mean that there should be a deliberate respect of other people’s perspectives to try to find ways for all of us to see opportunity in the future.
