Time to face some facts

Steve Campbell

    Much against my better judgment, I’d like to pursue the comments from my last column, which seems to have generated some productive thought around the County.
This time, I’d like to look at the problem from less of a societal point of view, but as a practical scientific experiment.
First we need to have the facts at hand. Smart firefighters will take a look at what they’re facing, before they go charging in with hose and axe, and I think we should learn from this approach.

First, let’s take a look at the ‘givens’ – facts that are already on the table.
Fact 1: People are different. The County has a real variety of backgrounds, talents, beliefs and temperaments – and always has. We come from here, there and everywhere. Like any functional family, we sometimes agree and sometimes disagree. But, when push comes to shove, we must agree we are a family and, in the end, we must stick together.
That is a fact.

Fact 2: The County is changing, just as the world around us is changing.
We are not stuck in 1962, and we can’t go back there.
Shake off the blues about missing a world that will never return to us. That’s what memories are for and, yes, they’re damn good ones. But mourning the loss of 1962 County is like forever crying over the loss of a loved one … it only makes you sad, every day. And prevents you from moving on with your life.

Fact 3: Costs are rising at an astronomical rate: food, hydro, property taxes, housing prices, garbage tags – while County people are largely stuck at 1962 wages.
Painful? You bet! And it’s a large part of the driving force behind the influx of city people moving to the County with their comparatively enormous ‘nest eggs’, and meeting with everything from caution to outright horror from the locals.

Fact 4: Vision for the future. There is none. We don’t know what we want … we only complain about what we get.
And by ‘future’, I mean looking a year down the road. Because, in this techno-age, anyone who can see further than that is a bonafide psychic.

Everyone in the County is bouncing balls in the air, hoping to catch one they like.
Sure, we have rules on the books to control our development, and bar the big box stores, and protect our heritage – but all of these seem to vanish into the mist if a suitcase full of cash hits the table. Or Council gets into a mud-wrestling match with the multitudinous citizen’s group that pop up overnight to protest, well, everything.
This is not a bad thing. It’s democracy in action, and it can tweak a not-so-good plan into a better plan. And, we have little enough voice in the direction of our future, so sometimes we need to scream to be heard.

I can’t think of anyone who would disagree with the four facts above so, since we’re in the lab, let’s see what develops.
On Fact #1: All we do is squabble with each other about who fits in – who belongs and who doesn’t. This is a fool’s game. Everyone fits in. Unless they don’t want to. Then they don’t.
Perhaps they should have done more research, before they chose the County as a home. This is why black people don’t join the Klan.
But we really need to acknowledge that large numbers of people who choose the County come here for all the right reasons.
I suspect that, when it comes to protecting our County land, lifestyle and heritage, our so-called ‘newcomers’ are on the front lines.
Bike Shop Katy had an interesting perspective on the problem:
“Everybody on the road drives something different – a transport, or truck or car or a bicycle. We all have our own reasons for doing what we do, but we need to learn how to share the road together.”
I thought this was brilliant because – using the analogy – if we’re not moving in the same direction together, really ugly accidents will happen.
Historically, this is why the native Indians drew such a bad lot across North America – they were so busy fighting other tribes, they did not see the True Enemy rolling in.

On Fact #2. Yes, the County is changing, but we need to get our perspective on this. So called ‘upscale’ restaurants and gathering spots are simply new businesses targeting a new market. Really, it’s as simple as that.
Personally, I would not pay $14.95 for a burger and fries, unless it was delivered to my table by Jennifer Aniston naked. But that’s okay. Some people think that’s a deal.
So I pretty much make my own tuna sandwiches. But I don’t resent the people who have the cash to ‘experience’ a $15 burger. That’s okay with me. That’s their game, not mine.

On Fact #3. Rising costs? I have no solution for this, or I would be a top economist in the Harper government, and would gladly tip $14.95 for a $14.95 burger. Even without naked Jennifer.
Still, we survive as we always have. By sticking together, muttering annoyances at the tourists and city drivers during the summer, and getting back to normal after that.

On Fact #4. If you still dream of a big industry coming to the County, with great union jobs and 500 open positions, you are probably still sending postcards to your dead relatives. That dream died with H.J. McFarland.
Shake your head and look at what the County is doing now. And I hope our County Council takes note.
All across Canada, the old concept of “steady job, work ‘til you hit retirement, get a gold watch” – that’s gone.
The new wave is in entrepreneurship and – make no mistake – the old ‘boo-hoo’ about no jobs for young people? They’re the ones driving this.
There’s a new generation, and they’re not suit-and-tie. They want the County’s quality of life, and they have the drive and ambition to make it happen.
Small business has always been the heart of our growth, second only to our mostly-ignored agricultural sector.
Some people write it off as ‘little boutiques like a County Fair’. And they bitch about not having open parking spots, and having to wait in traffic. But there’s serious business going on.
County Council can’t help us grow business. Because they don’t know how.
But we do. From chip trucks to fine dining, we find the way.