Politicians are often apathetic about consulting the public on issues of governance.
They instead rationalize that there is lack of time to consult or that they already know the will of the people. Both are questionable excuses.
But on issues of major importance such as sewage mega-projects, amalgamation and taxes, it is essential that politicians consult the community for input on options. Failure to do so demonstrates lack of respect for the voting public.
It is this lack of respect that led to the Capital Regional District sewage fiasco that we now face.
Failure to adequately consult with the public before CRD planning began, has resulted in a failed Seaterra sewage plan which was based on yesterday’s sewage technology and met none of the community’s needs for today.
It did not deal with storm water issues or pharmaceuticals. It wasted excessive amounts of water and had limited energy recovery potential. It required 18 kilometres of expensive sewage pumping and it would have been extremely costly to maintain. It was an intrusive, centralized, secondary sewage design that the CRD cannot convince any municipality to accept with its siting contest.
Now is the time to prevent such debacles occurring again. It is time to elect municipal representatives who have and will continue to consult with the community on important issues, and give the voting public the respect that they deserve.
Norma Brown, Esquimalt