Welcome to Your Kamloops!

It Sucks Not To Be At The UBCM Convention This Year...

The best learning opportunity in the province to learn about important issues and how to serve your community. That is what the annual Union of BC Municipalities represents, in my humble opinion.

You also meet some incredibly interesting people from all every nook and corner of BC.

I even considered going as a business / media rep / citizen, but it seemed a little weird to me just one year after not getting re-elected to Council.

The best things about UBCM are the various educational sessions. You get to hear and interact with top professionals in the province on all sorts of issues. Last year, I attended a seminar on crime and policing with the top provincial RCMP officer - Inspector Gary Bass. Extremely informative.

I hope some of our councillors and staffers attending this year might consider writing up some of their learnings and experiences.

To follow along with UBCM this year, watch for the coverage in the local media. Also, for more province wide / specific issue coverage, Google News collects lots of reports. There are a lot of interesting issues being talked about...

What the $%#^ is Dialogue and Deliberation? Public Participation on Steroids?

If I told you that I have become a huge fan of dialogue and deliberation, would you understand what I was saying?

I called it public participation in my last post, because I thought that term would be more understandable.

I certainly feel these terms, while important in certain situations, don't really mean much to most people. But, I also feel certain that the skills involved in dialogue and deliberation are absolutely essential in today's world. I don't feel certain about much, but I feel pretty clear about that.

Here's why, I think:

As society's problems become more complex and more difficult, our ability to work together in an atmosphere of trust has decreased. A lot of elected people are scared to bring up tough issues, which may involve trade-offs and sacrifices.

I've been to lots of public meetings in my life, and most times, people leave feeling dissatisfied or don't have any follow up from the meeting. And, then, a while down the road, we seem to hold the same meeting and talk about the same issues.

The field of dialogue and deliberation offers techniques and methodologies to create safe places where a great variety of people can meet, learn listen and talk respectfully, and perhaps try to come up with some common positions.  It helps people broach difficult issues, and does this within a process, typically not consisting of just a single meeting. In these types of processes, people who passionately disagree still try to truly understand and respect each other's viewpoints.

Its the exact opposite of the rampant partisanship in much of today's politics, that I feel helps destroys our sense of common purpose.

If we could build 80 to 90% public support behind a strategy to deal with climate change in Kamloops, or an economic prosperity strategy, or pick an issue - to me, that would be a wonderful thing.

I am not saying this stuff is easy, but I was actually quite surprised to see how much dialogue and deliberation goes on. I was in San Diego last week learning with an incredible group of people as part of the Fielding Graduate Certificate in Dialogue, Deliberation, and Public Engagement - now, in its 6th year. 

In this program, we've discussed many successful efforts. Among them,

• National Issues Forums
• Sustained Dialogue
• Public Dialogue Consortium

Closer to home, my good friend Joanna Ashworth, who sits on the board of the Canadian Community for Dialogue and Deliberation with me, runs the Simon Fraser Dialogue Programs. Also very highly regarded!   

Essential Learning: Public Participation

Been a totally amazing, exhausting day of learning for me. I'm sitting in a hotel room in San Diego California at the end of a long day of face to face training in how to engage people more authentically and holistically in public (and private) group decisionmaking.

I'm currently take the certificate program in what is called Dialogue, Deliberation, and Public Engagement at Fielding Graduate University.

Been a very impactful session so far. Most of the work is accessed online or on teleconference, but today was the first of three days of face to face training.

More to say on why I think this such an important area of study and practice for Kamloops very soon....

Doesn't Take Much to Put Face(s) on Homelessness...

I'm quite ashamed to admit that it took me a long while, as an advocate for the homeless, to actually get to know some of our homeless neighbours in Kamloops.

I sat in many a meeting about homelessness before I actually started to develop some relationships with homeless people.

Last winter, I volunteered for the Out of the Cold shelter for the first time and got a chance to meet a few of the "guests" in a relatively relaxed setting. It was extremely easy to volunteer.

My heart broke quite a few times over those few evenings. I saw human beings with such sadness, with so many complex, difficult issues. Things I really didn't want to see at all. I knew Out of the Cold was just a bandaid, but I also knew, a very important band-aid.

But, here's what happened this past Friday. My heart soared because of 28 new units of housing that will be so much more than a band-aid.

The Henry Leland House officially opened on Friday. As I approached the building, I saw one of my Out of Cold friends. Something, however, was very different. Instead of staggering and slurring, this gentleman was steady and speaking clearly. I couldn't believe it was the same person. Only 11 days sober, and a place to call home, and the transformation was incredible.

It gave me such hope and such gratitude to all those who made the Henry Leland House a reality. 

I knew Mr. Henry Leland, not well, but it pained me greatly when he died so tragically. He was an inveterate street person, when I saw him he was almost always staggering, but he was also someone I was also quite fond of. He binned the dumpsters at my apartment building, and I was thankful for his recycling help. He didn't look like he would hurt a fly. We once gave him and Gord, his friend, leftover pizza from a tenant party we organized.

Where he froze to death is very nearby.

Here is a friend of Henry's, now resident of Henry Leland House, talking about what getting off the street has meant to him, and about his connection to the place. Apologies for the shaky video and subpar sound, shot this with my cellphone:

   

Behind the Awarding of International Award to Kamloops RCMP...

Summary of my notes after Supt Jim Begley's Sept 1st presentation to City Council:

The Kamloops RCMP 2006 strategic planning process has yielded results. Crime is down significantly. The detachment now focuses on proactive policing, monitoring the most profilic offenders and even offering options for them to better their lives. In 2004/2005, calls per shift came in at 120. Now, calls per shift number 60. In 2006, 26% of cases resulted in jail time. In 2008, the percentage is now 45%. In recognition of this incredible performance, the International Association of Police Chiefs has awarded the Kamloops RCMP detachment the 2009 Cisco Community Policing Award for communities in the 50 000 to 100 000 population range. Watch for news on the new RCMP planning process coming soon.

Will the Ministry of Environment Approve Un-Tested Technologies? Good Question from Marg Spina.

What I'm trying to get my head around is whether a demonstrated track record is one of the criteria the Ministry of Environment uses to approve air emissions permits from industrial facilities.

At the September 1st Kamloops Council Meeting, while listening to many presentation on a proposed Aboriginal Cogeneration Corporation (ACC) operation, Councillor Marg Spina basically asked this question of Ministry of Environment Air Quality Expert Ralph Adams.

Ralph's response was interesting in that he said there are similar plants (that burn creosote soaked railway ties), even as close as Williams Lake. But then he said something that made me stop, rewind the tape, and listen once more. Ralph said:

"The bottom line is we are not going to get away from rejecting a permit just because no one else has done it - not gonna work".

As ACC technology uses a special propietary process that has not seemed to be significantly field-tested, this sounds a bit worrisome to me. Did I miss a piece here?

I'd like to ask Ralph for comment on this, and will post his / the Ministry's reply here.

Meanwhile, here is the "game tape":

   

Dr Kathleen Scherf Statement on Her Termination as TRU President...

From the Kamloops Daily News and Kamloops This Week:

Thank you for all your interest. Just to ensure that everyone is working with the same and accurate information from my point of view, I’d like to respond to your interest via a statement. Please respect this will be my only official response at this time, and note that I am not responsible for any other statements that may have been attributed to me.

First, I would like to thank everyone at TRU and in the Kamloops community for their support. I loved the year I was privileged to serve at TRU’s helm.

Although I was surprised by the decision, I respect that the TRU Board of Governors has the right to terminate without just cause — Presidents serve at the pleasure of the Board, and this is regular university governance.

Under my leadership, TRU engaged in a sweeping restructuring and alignment project, passed with 86 per cent approval at the Senate, and then unanimously by the Board. As well, we broke all previous campus United Way campaigns, raising just short of $64,000. During my time, TRU’s fundraising activities increased 342 per cent from the 12 months previous. And finally, we were able to bring the first new Canadian law school in 35 years to TRU. There were other successes, but for me, these are the highlights.

One person does not accomplish such things alone; I want to thank my team members for all their work. I remain a TRU supporter and will watch with great interest as the university continues to grow and to succeed.

A Conversation with Jann Bailey, Executive Director of the Kamloops Art Gallery

 

Today, I'm very pleased to bring to you a podcast conversation I had with one of Canada's most successful arts administrators, the executive director of the Kamloops Arts Gallery, Jann Bailey.

Jann has led the Gallery in all of its most significant projects - the creation of a new, modern gallery space and the curation of the Canadian  entry in the Venice Bienalle, known as the Olympics of culture and the arts.

Jann is the very definition of a community leader, and I am so appreciative she shared some of her time with me...

(download this podcast directly on to your computer)

01:11 - how Jann became the Executive Director of the Art Gallery
03:19 - Jann arrived at time of waterfront development proposal referendum
           wanted to build a new gallery, took 10 more years
04:33 - history behind the creation of the Art Gallery
05:43 - is Kamloops a community that values the arts? if so, why and how?
06:44 - were there tough times?
07:22 - the importance of arts even in economically tough times
09:00 - the mandates and artistic vision of the Art Gallery: quite varied
10:56 - building the present Art Gallery
12:19 - Gallery membership base
13:20 - featured Gallery programs
16:48 - factors contributing to the success of the Gallery
17:50 - life lessons from Jann Bailey
19:09 - the incredible experience of curating at the Venice Biennale.
23:29 - upcoming Gallery events    
 

More Info on Methodology Behind Developing the Plan to End Homelessness in Kamloops...

From this Thompson Nicola Cariboo United Way's blog post...

I Hope Kathleen Scherf Will Stay in Kamloops...

Dr Kathleen Scherf was basically fired today as President of Thompson Rivers University, after her one year review by the TRU Board of Governors.

I know Kathleen had mixed reviews as TRU President. Her flamboyance, for example, sometimes led people to conclude that she was not serious. But, as Kathleen told me when I interviewed her in this podcast, she can only be who she is.

I don't know Kathleen well, but my interview with her kind of made me a fan. She knew her stuff, and took her "unusualness" as a source of power. I really hope she decides to stay in Kamloops, where I think she could make an enormous contribution. 

I know the TRU Board made their difficult decision carefully. Perhaps being a University President is not the right place for her in Kamloops     but I think there are many other ways to make a difference (just ask a recently defeated former city councillor!).

Here are audio snippets from my conversation with Kathleen  - talking about her "unusualness" in kind of an unusual, I would say refreshing, way: