Welcome to Your Kamloops!

Thanks Meals on Wheels Kamloops!

Had the incredible opportunity to accompany my new friend Sam on a Meals on Wheels route in North Kamloops and Westsyde. We delivered meals (cooked at the hospital) to seniors. I met a 91 year old lady still living on her own who was a great inspiration. Seems to me a lot of the seniors we met were lacking in company - they were not happy to see us go.  Perhaps, we need to find opportunities for more visits for these folks.

I want to thank Karen Rosenke from Interior Community Services who invited me to participate as part of Cool to be Kind week.

John DeCicco's apology...

I was thankful to hear Councillor John DeCicco offer his "sincerest apologies" to those offended by  comments on homosexuality this past summer. I know some don't accept his apology, but I gratefully do. I have a lot of time for John DeCicco - he is a good man. And, while I wish he had apologized right from the get go, I am glad he ultimately did, like I said.

Paul Rubben, who took DeCicco to task after he apologized, raised the question of whether DeCicco was only apologizing because of the human rights complaint against him.

Interesting question. But perhaps thats not really the point for those of us who are asking for acceptance of gays and lesbians into the Kamloops mainstream. In a way, I am glad this issue blew up the way it did. If DeCicco had simply raised his hand in opposition to the gay pride proclamation, as he had many times before, and not made those hurtful comments, and had a human rights complaint against him, he would not have had to deal with his bias in such a way.

I know this series of events has made me even more committed to working for equal acceptance and equal rights for all Kamloopsians.

And I hope DeCicco's journey with this over the past few months has caused him to reflect. Knowing him from Council, I would be surprised if he has not reflected.

Its fine when one says "this is right for me", but how can you possibly say "this is right for someone else". Different strokes for different folks.

Perhaps, with some further reflection, he will see it right to join the rest of us next year, when the proclamation comes before Council again.

Bank of Montreal move revisited

Just below this post, in my open letter to the Bank of Montreal, I argue that they should stay downtown. I just want to clarify that I do not mean that they should stay in the high rise - there are certainly other locations downtown that might be a better fit for the BMO.

Not too sure about continuing Council Meeting recaps.

I am wondering if visitors have been finding my council recaps - which I intended to do regularly, but have only done sporadically  - useful. I am not sure if I should make the commitment to catch up on the meetings I have not summarized and make a committment to the time for future meetings.

Thoughts?

Leave a comment or email me.

Armchair Mel says I am Naive on China...I Beg to Differ...

Last week at Council, at the end of a discussion on the City's flag policy, I made a comment that, although this was not something I expected to resonate, I felt that we should be wary of flyng the flag of any country that is not a democracy. Of course, I was thinking specifically of China, when I made the comment. That is the dictatorship that Kamloops has more formal ties with. However, I did not mention China specifically, I don't think, not really wanting to make waves. With China's star acsendant in the global economy, making friends in that incredible country is almost the holy grail for government and business alike.

In the break, Michelle Young ( veteran reporter with the Kamloops Daily News) asked me to elaborate on my comments. And, in the course of that conversation, my feelings about the lack of democracy in China and my squeamishness with the City's relationship with the Chinese city of Changping came out.

I want to make it clear that I think the China, as a whole, is an amazing and accomplished society. I have met many people from China and found them, the vast majority, wonderful people.

I just have a major issue when minorities, those who are different, those who disagree with the powers that be, are prohibited from and persecuted for being who they are. By their own government.

Michelle wrote an article entitled something like "Singh pleased Chinese flag not flying at City Hall". And Mel Rothenburger, editor of the Daily News, wrote an editorial saying that I was naive - and that the more we interact with China, the more democratic it might become.

We shouldn't give the impression that China has everything to offer us and we have nothing to offer them. I am a little skeptical of trickle down democracy.

I don't think I'm naive at all. Focusing on the flag - which is not just the flag of a government, but perhaps also the flag of the people - might not have been the wisest move. But, I do feel strongly that we need to create a space to talk to Chinese government officals about democracy and human rights - not to lecture them, but to have a genuine conversation (after all, we also have our flaws in this regard).

And, if they are not willing to have this conversation, I say lets continue to welcome Chinese people to our community, but not engage in formal partnerships with Chinese cities.

Will an Inland Port in Kamloops be Profitable?

Well, local experts don't quite know yet. But, what they do know suggests that further research is definitely warranted for this economic development initiative. I attended the launch event for a study by Venture Kamloops and TRU on the potential opportunities for an Inland port facility based in Kamloops.

An inland port is basically a container stuffing and sorting facility. Instead of shipments being loaded and unloaded by the water, that work is done further inland. The goal is to offer a competitive service that is closer to many customers and that can take advantage of lower land costs away from the major sea ports (ie Port of Vancouver).

A lot of good questions were asked today. Did the study rely too much on potential business for what many see as an ailing forest industry? What interest has there been from the private sector in building an inland port facility? Will the initiative get the critical cooperation of the rail companies?

There has been at least private company who has wanted to commit money to the project already - a forest company out of Castlegar. So, the forest industry may in fact see bright things in the future. The CP rail executive at the meeting said if there were multiple customers accessing the facility, the easier it would be see to have trains stop at the proposed inland port - but no guarantees.