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by Fred Kirby                              June 6,  2007

There has been much hullabaloo over the resignation of Carol Little from the position of airport manager. Some letters were correct in that they simply expressed their best wishes to a popular manager. Incorrect were the letters to the papers and telephone calls to council members the tenor of which were accusatory of Council. There is far too much glandular reaction and too little thought being invested in the issue. Emotional binges do not bring light to problems; they only cloud the issues.

I did not find maliciousness on the part of Council in their dealing with the previous manager, Carol Little. What I did find was ineptitude and illegality on the part of Council when they gave a contract without any evaluation and without tendering it. That is the nub of the issue and had nothing to do with Carol. The majority on Council were content to keep Carol as manager. To resign was her choice. Do not blame Council for a personal decision; wishing Carol well in her future endeavors should be sufficient.

What is more important is the fact that over the years, council and senior management never bothered to govern the airport operation. That was irresponsible. Also culpable were the chairs of the Airport Committee who, no matter what some of them may say about the work done and the economic value of the airport, did little to bring its potential to fruition.

One recent writer did make a valid point: “The council and municipal staff have little or no knowledge of what is involved in the airport operations.” When he sought to learn who voted to cancel the contract he was told there was no recorded vote which highlights an on-going concern of mine. There are far too few recorded votes by Council. Citizens have the right to know the position taken by members of Council on contentious issues. Unfortunately the writer’s constructive comments were overshadowed by the unwarranted conspiratorial feelings and a failure to understand that the contract was illegal and open to challenge. Do not confuse stupidity with maliciousness.

Yes, the airport is a service facility but that is not an excuse to ignore costs. Also, as a service facility its costs should always be weighed against the costs of other services and against their benefit to all citizens.

June 13, 2007

“Around the world, giant hydroelectric dams, pipelines, canals, roads, and seaports have been constructed on Indigenous lands in the name of economic development and modernization…Indigenous people suffer the adverse effects of such projects, but rarely benefit from the profits they generate.” (Mairin Iwanka Raya, International Indigenous Women’s Forum 2006)

Land claims and understandable unrest exist not only in Canada but are found throughout the world. Amnesty International states that without secure access to land and resources, all the human rights of Indigenous peoples are in jeopardy. In Bolivia, the Indigenous population has formed the government and, yes, they have little experience in modern government, but they have the best of intentions for the country. Rather than oppose this new government, we in North America should be offering to do all we can to make this democratic government flourish; but we do not because, as so many times in history, our greed blinds us to the needs of humanity. In Chile, a gold mine will destroy the water supply of an entire community; the people have no power; corporations do. When did gold become more important than water? Which sustains human life? These tragedies may be in distant lands but Canadian companies such as Barrack and Enbridge participate in the assaults. But we do not need to go to Columbia’s pipelines or Chile’s gold mines to see the continual assaults on Indigenous people.

The Alberta tar sands oil extraction project is depleting the water supply in Alberta and, while Canadians may think that is acceptable as long as it only affects Canada’s Aboriginal people, the reality is that eventually all Albertans will suffer. The final irony is that not only will we all pay a terrible price but all the oil produced goes directly to the USA.

What has this got to do with municipalities? Think of Caledonia, remember Oka and Ipperwash and do not forget our neighbour, Hope Bay. You can only rob a people, ignore their rights, subject them to numerous demeaning attacks on their culture and on them as individuals for so long before anger and resentment builds and they bite back.

Municipalities cannot avoid involvement; through their provincial and federal organizations they need to keep the provincial and federal governments’ feet to the fire. Nothing will happen unless they do. The aboriginal among us act within their rights though the bigots and uninformed will blame them. Now is the time to remember what Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

June 20, 2007

My former professor Dr. Al Johnson observed during a seminar that a person sitting in a cabin isolated from all other people could read all the works of Western philosophy yet would never grow or truly understand because there would be no one to tell him when he was wrong. It was a lifetime lesson and still today my old colleagues share ideas, being comfortable to correct or contribute to the thoughts expressed. It is a rich experience through which we all learn and the arguments are delicious.

It is unfortunate our mayor has learned little since the time when he was first mayor two mandates ago. I had hoped for better. Municipal business is far too complex today for the mayor to attempt conducting it based solely on his own bits of knowledge and experience.

Larry made an inauspicious start when he removed the councillors’ office in the Municipal Administrative Building. Having not yet been sworn in, he was quite in the wrong. Had he taken the proper steps and put his request before Council after the new Council was convened, there would have been no blot on his copybook.

According to the Municipal Act, one of the duties of mayor is, “to preside over council meetings so that the business can be carried out efficiently and effectively.” Had Larry done his homework and led Council through the delicate discussions of the airport manager’s contract, the matter would not have ended in a fiasco. To be fair, though that was his responsibility, all members of Council must share blame for thoughtlessly rushing ahead in defiance of their own bylaw, but competent leadership would not have taken them over the cliff.

Larry should have learned from these missteps and reconsidered his approach to municipal politics. That he continues to attend too many committee meetings to spout his opinion rather than let the committees get on with their mandate and that he continues to speak to the public not as representing Council’s position but pushing his own private agenda, informs us there has been nothing learned. It is poor leadership and bad politics.

The mayor is only one member of Council. He has one vote, just as does every member of Council. The mayor does have other duties which are responsibilities, not privileges, such as representing the Municipality at official functions, but, when he speaks, it must be on behalf of Council.

Larry, it can be a long beastly four years or a bright productive four years; the choice is yours.

June 27, 2007

Councils become upset when told they have no wisdom and miss the point, lost in the smoke of self-righteous indignation.

The request for Council to support a Rehabilitation Clinic, integrated with the proposed Davidson Centre addition, makes sense. What is wrong with a partnership between private and public concerns if it benefits the citizens? The advantages of such a clinic have nothing to do with attracting doctors, nor should Council deny support because it already gives money to local health services. Supporting those services does not make Council righteous; it just means they are doing their duty to the citizens. To give as a reason for rejecting the proposal that it is the responsibility of provincial or federal government is a game used by politicians since the beginning of time. These are lame excuses. Sadly, the level of discussion by Council was more suitable for a schoolyard than a chamber for deliberation. Is that the way to make our community a better place in which to live?

Whether the Davidson Centre is replaced or enhanced by an addition, I have not seen any evidence of a sustainable building concept. So where is the rush? Councillors do not have wisdom (few people do) but surely they can use their good sense and work with the medical community in the development of the Rehabilitation Clinic; a clinic which I read the Kincardine Community Rehabilitation Centre supports. Being in the business, surely those rehab folks have insight that Council does not.

Council, believing it is being responsible, keeps asking for a business plan. This comes from a Council that, without a second thought, was going to renew a contract for the airport without asking for a business plan or reviewing the operation. I cannot say if local doctors could come up with a plan that can assure success, but if Council sat down with them, with whatever resources each can bring, then open minds and vision could resolve the issue to the citizens’ satisfaction.

Citizens pay taxes to maintain an Office of Economic Development whose staff should be comfortable developing business plans; why cannot that resource be brought in to assist? That and open minds would be an improvement on righteous indignation, and any child at a beach knows that lines in the sand are quickly washed away.

The concept of such a clinic in Kincardine has positive aspects considering the continuous aging of our population, the medical and rehabilitation needs of our work force and those of our vulnerable youth.

I am uncertain as to what a business plan will tell Council, but I am certain that improved health services will give citizens needing them, benefits far in excess of any anticipated cost. For Kincardine, there will be lasting benefits as the quality of life improves for all.

There once was a haughty queen who told her hungry citizens to go and eat cake. They chopped off her head instead.