Never again
Government matters. It matters who they are and what they do. Rarely, if ever, in our lifetime has this notion been more brilliantly illuminated than this moment right now. It matters that we present a competent collective response to crises such as COVID-19. It matters that we have democratically elected leaders who are base-line competent […]
Interdependent
I’m looking for beauty. For grace. Dignity. Humility. These essential ingredients of cohesive human existence seem to be slipping away from us. Scattered by fear. Temporarily, I pray. There seems no immediate escape from this vortex, however. Certainly not in the news that is necessarily a combination of the grim record keeping that measures the […]
Looking ahead
We should talk about what happens next. Certainly our focus today must be trained upon containing the spread of COVID-19 and caring for those threatened by this virus. We must do all that is in our power to equip and assist the healthcare professionals combatting this pandemic. We must, as well, scramble to manufacture ventilators, […]
Stumble
The old woman started across the street against a tough, cold wind rolling in off the North Channel from the Irish Sea. Partway through the intersection on the Falls Roads her forward advance was abruptly stopped by a sudden powerful gust. Clutching her purse, she stepped backwards, stumbled and toppled onto the pavement. She struggled […]
Unfettered
So that is it. Shire Hall needs the money. The province says it can take it. So, Shire Hall is taking it. No meaningful consultation. No process. Just a headlong rush to grab a share of the cash flow from local businesses. Because it can. Council agreed last week—unanimously—to ram through a new Municipal Accommodation […]
Unaccommodating
It didn’t have to be this way. It needn’t have been controversial at all. Shire Hall might have avoided much of the blowback heading its way, had it simply managed the introduction of a Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) with little less urgency and a truckload more professionalism. (I must inform my readers that I am […]
To the MAT
The County’s economy seems a robust thing. A strong and increasingly diverse agricultural base. A vibrant visitor economy that draws folks from around the world. And a humming service and supply economy that supports both. (We would have a thriving new home building economy too, but for lingering systemic, regulatory and cultural impediments that make […]
Accommodation
I understand why our Prime Minister would prefer to be in Barbados this week. The challenges to which he is returning may be without remedy. In a matter of a few days, a seemingly internecine dispute over who speaks for some Indigenous folks in British Columbia has escalated into a full-on crisis bearing the charming […]
After denial
Perhaps the most encouraging words uttered during the three days of budget deliberations, a week and a bit ago, came from the County’s new CAO Marcia Wallace. Several times the County manager advised council against throwing more money into a hole, where it would surely be absorbed, and instead work with her to prepare a […]
Delegated authority
How is Shire Hall faring in the time of pandemic? It is likely not the uppermost question on our minds these days. Nevertheless, the business of local government— or at least portions of it—goes on. Pumps still turn. Potholes are filled. Projects managed. Information shared. All of it without much direct oversight. Council members, like […]