Is Anybody Out There?

My wife and I moved to Qualicum Beach in the fall of 2018. After we settled in we did not get involved with or follow local council affairs other than reading the odd story in the PQB News. I suspect that we were not unusual. It seemed to us, that all was right in Qualicum Beach. Some time ago, we chanced upon The Second Opinion, a digital newsletter about happenings in Qualicum Beach. At first we thought it was just a bunch of grumpy pensioners with too much time on their hands. We soon discovered that the Second Opinion provided a valuable insight into the goings on in Qualicum Beach and raised many questions that we thought needed answers or at least explanations.

We started going to council meetings, public information meetings and open houses. Basically, anything that would help us to understand what was going on in QB. We assumed that other residents would also be interested. We soon realized that we were in a minority. A public meeting on the feasibility of a skateboard park had fewer than 3 dozen attendees. A committee of the whole meeting called to review the town's new tree bylaw, a bylaw that potentially affects everyone in town, had less than that. We have been to council meetings where, at the end of the meeting, we were the only ones in the audience. Talking with acquaintances in town, revealed that some persons were satisfied with the status quo, others dissatisfied and some simply were not interested. I heard "but, what can you do about it?" a number of times. The answer to that question is to get involved, attend some council meetings. Learn about the town council's vision for Qualicum Beach. See where your tax dollars are being spent. Attend a council meeting so you can see the issues being debated by council and the way in which they are resolved. Do some searches on the Second Opinion website so you can see the progress or lack thereof, being made on some outstanding matters.

If you feel sufficiently informed and are satisfied that you are getting value for your tax dollars, then perhaps you don't need to do anything, but be prepared to live with the consequences. On the other hand if you care about the consequences you need to ask questions and inform yourself. In this writers opinion, you should not be asking the question, "Where did that come from?" or "What did that cost us?" after a town project has been completed and your tax payer monies have been spent.

J Noel

July 20 2024

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