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The Terry Lake / Arjun Singh Grandstanding Count.....

Two separate times, over the last few months, the Mayor has publicly impugned my motives when it comes to issues raised or debates we have around the council table - accusing me of "grandstanding". He accused me of "grandstanding" again today, on Radio NL, about human rights in China.

I must say I find this surprising, and not a little disappointing.  We all work hard as members of council, and I think we are all pretty sincere about what we do. It is not always easy. My stance on human rights and the promotion of democratic systems of government in China and around the world, for example, will surely cost me some votes in the next election.

On the other hand, whenever Mayor Lake accuses me of grandstanding, I am almost certain that I am bringing up an important issue. It's just one of my little barometers.....

(By the way, I believe human rights in China is a local issue because of the trade relationship we as a community are officially sponsoring. That I understand is a debatable point, and I willing to debate it anytime. But its, of course, not as local as land use planning, recreation, crime and social disorder, water meters, etc - trust me, I spend more time on those issues, that don't always get the media play as statements about humans rights and democracy.

...so perhaps it time to start a count - the amount of times the Mayor accuses me of grandstanding before the next election. Maybe its a sign I am actually doing my job.

As of today, the count stands at:

2

Creating a Culture of Entrepreneurship among Kamloops Youth...

I had the honour of attending a Kamloops Junior Achievement reception this evening.

Junior Achievement teaches young people in our area skills business and entrepreneurship skills. One of the best feelings in life is knowing you can be self reliant, and create your own independence, security, and future. This is the huge value of the free enterprise system.

I feel it is very important to have more people in our city start businesses. Too often, we trade our own creativity and happiness for the security of a steady paycheck. People sometimes think you can't have all these things in one package - and going into your own business is certainly an established way.  It is difficult to work for yourself, and even harder to have the responsibility of others working for you. But, ultimately, it is very rewarding and very important to our community as a whole.

The skills these young people have started learning through Junior Achievement will hopefully grow exponentially as they live their lives.

Congrats to Gemma Gowling, the person who coordinates all this learning locally!

Video Log - Bob Schrader on Rotary's Global Race for Water...

Bob Schrader is one of the leading Rotarians in Kamloops and a member of the Rotary Club of Kamloops North.

A Coffee with the Chief of Police...

Had an hour coffee with Supt Jim Begley, commander of the Kamloops RCMP detachment. I had asked the Supt for the meeting. We had a great talk about many different topics. I am really pleased with the general direction our local RCMP detachment is heading, in the sense that they are working more closely with various social and health agencies to take a more holistic approach to crime. I thanked Supt Begley for that.

I also shared with Supt Begley that I personally appreciate when he makes public comments on crime and the activities of our detachment in addressing crime. I know sometimes it is difficult for the RCMP to share a lot, but it does really help people understand the difficult balancing acts involved in policing our community.

Adventures on the Road to Density....

I came across an interesting situation last week. At a public hearing, I was listening to a lot of reasonable thoughtful people, many whom I have known for some time, speak against what seemed to me a pretty reasonable development proposal. There would be an increase of density in a subdivision of a lot on the corner of Fraser St and Tunstall Cres, but it seemed to me it could be done sensitively, the problems could be addressed.

Almost every best practice in community planning these days seems to involve putting more people in less space, but there are strong, respectable opponents and there are also some situations where more density is exactly the wrong thing.

I found this particular public hearing challenging. I decided to contact one of the main spokespeople for those opposed and ask if he would be willing to meet with me to discuss further the issue. I really wanted to better understand his point of view and wanted also to share my thoughts about the imperatives of building a more compact, sustainable community,

When there is opposition to a development proposal, public hearings are a pretty confrontational process. I was not sure if my  calls would be returned. But, to his great credit, this gentleman returned my call and we had a great chat. A start to a more full conversation over time, I hope.

I again learned about neighborhood concerns around keeping neighborhood character and about traffic issues. These are issues we need to address elegantly and with great community buy in. if we are ever to really achieve more population density.

I shared concerns about climate change and creating better communities in our neighborhoods - where folks do not live in isolation of each other.

Hopefully, more to come...I need to talk to those who sometimes have different views to my votes more often,

A Sunday in the Community Video Blog Post...

A summary of some really great events I attended: