Democracy
endangered by lack of citizen interest
To the editor:
Judging by what I read in Andre Carrel’s column in the March 16, 2023 edition of The Terrace Standard about the response by citizens to the City of Terrace’s budget survey and other matters, city governance is a mess.
A dismal lack of interest by city council of input from the citizenry coupled with the population’s general apathy has led to a state of affairs whereby the town is virtually bereft of those interested in the processes inherent in the functioning of the town.
I’m unsure why that is. Is it that people don’t care about what council is doing, as long as something is done? Or have things been dysfunctional for sufficiently long over the years that, unless a disaster is pending (something greater than, say, a snowstorm that city equipment is ill-prepared to contend with), folks are simply content with the status quo.
Maybe that is indeed so good or bad, Terrace had the same mayor for 23 years! After all, folks have kids to raise, school and work to attend to. Life goes on. Meanwhile despite a horrendous tax increase that even isn’t enough to spur interest in the budget.
The populace appears to care not a whit in what their hard-earned cash is being spent on by council. Heck, judging by the turnout, few even appeared particularly interested in voting for new people on the council. So perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised.
Thing is, it’s far easier for council to just “do their own thing” when few question its decision-making, and I suspect they bank on this, as all governments do to some extent.
This is no insult to those sitting on council, it’s simply human nature to take the easy road if no one says anything.
But for democratic process to work it is essential to have alternative opinions, including those coming from the public. And at the end of the day council needs to listen. There badly needs to be more discourse. Neglect this, and the town will stagnate more than it has. At all levels.
Rob Baker,
Thornill, B.C.
When will electric postal vans come?
To the editor,
In Nanaimo, Canada Post has revealed 14 electric cargo vans for its transition to electrify its whole fleet.
In 2022 Canada Post set aside more than $1 billion to cut emissions and to go full electric.
Articles by several news media and the Weather Network about this transition also point out other organizations that are going electric.
In B.C. 38 per cent of our emissions come from transportation so going full electric will reduce those emissions and reduce the related air pollution and reduce health care costs for us all.
But when will we see going our local post office going fully electric?
Additionally, flat roofs, like our post office and most commercial buildings, are perfect for the installation of solar power, especially since those buildings use the most power during the days.
Martin Holzbauer,
Thornhill, B.C.