EDITOR,
In 1991 Kurt Cobain released his album Nevermind. The song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” went on to be one of the greatest rock songs of the last two decades.
The “teen spirit” song is about apathy and this message rings true with the line, “Oh well, whatever, nevermind,” a sentiment towards government that is all too familiar in the ’90’s teen generation.
Squamish is one of the youngest communities in British Columbia. Not so long ago, many of us were teenagers and young adults listening to the words of Cobain. Today these people are married, starting families, paying off loans, starting businesses, coaching soccer.
Over a century earlier than Cobain, another philosopher, John Stuart Mill, was writing some equally important riffs that would help shape democracy and civil liberties. Mill’s theory on individual liberty helped justify the freedom of the individual or a group of concerned individuals to oppose the state.
In a representational democracy we transfer our power to that elected official. In theory, this democracy works, but in small communities like Squamish, we have a voting demographic that is changing so fast that we likely have a divide between the will of the people vs. our local elected officials. At a growth rate of 16 per cent plus, Squamish is one of Canada’s fastest growing communities. Each day we have new residents coming to our community with no clear understanding of the issues at hand, no knowledge of our community history, and moving here at a critical time when our provincial government is fast-tracking radical changes to environmental policy, agriculture and park land reserve, plus fossil fuel energy markets.
But alas, 2014 is an election year for Squamish. We can make changes with our votes.
I’m writing this letter because of a time-sensitive issue that can’t wait for an election. The question is, “Do we want to invite a liquefied natural gas plant in our community?” or moreover, “Do we want to embrace hard industry in our community?” (not to be mistaken with “light” industry).
My concern is that residents of Squamish were not consulted. The district recently announced they want to form an LNG committee – a “lightweight” form of community engagement. The participants in this committee will impact the LNG decision. But there is no defined criteria by the district for selecting this group. This cowboy style of community engagement lacks details, structure — or a semblance of true democracy.
Perhaps a more effective way to listen to our community would be to put the LNG question to a referendum, then let the numbers speak for themselves. A public vote will lead to the truth and oblige our local government to act according to the expressed will of the majority. Ah, now this smells like a healthier form of “teen spirit” that doesn’t end in apathy.
Michelle Neilson
Squamish
