If concern for the safety and sustainability of ones community makes one a “redneck”, then sign me up.

The only thing Neanderthal about the thinking here is the approach local politicians are taking in dealing the economic uncertainty of the times. Leading means getting out in front of the pack, not to have your picture taken, but to take some risks to improve the life of the community. It does not mean miring yourself in the same old rhetoric, relying on what used to work in caveman days. When is local government going to wake up and discover the Neanderthal age of resource harvesting is ending, and there needs to be a creative vision for a sustainable future. So, imagine my surprise when I pull up a document on the web entitled, “An Investors Guide to Developmental Processes in Valemount” that details how to acquire crown land, timber rights and even lets potential water exporters know that, “no licence is required for water taken from a drilled well” (pg 24). This saddens me greatly.

Many concerned citizens in your community have spoken out in the last few weeks to prevent the exploitation of your water source. Now we find out the your elected representatives are, if not encouraging unmonitored water harvesting, at the very least filling in all the blanks to make it easy for anyone to come into this community, drill a well and start pumping your water. Now it’s multinationals setting up explosives plants in the beautiful valley in the mountains. When is this insanity going to end?

The representatives that you elect to protect you seem to me to be pulling out the stops to sell your resources to outside investors under the guise of “providing employment.” As you know, this is a stopgap plan at best. Where are the fresh ideas? Where is dynamic leadership? If local government wants to encourage investment, why not take the time to outline how this community can facilitate clean, modern, sustainable businesses that benefit both the local community and the investor and provide safe, sustainable employment within a non-exploitive framework. At the very least, if you can’t lead, then get out of the way, and let someone with the courage, energy and fresh ideas walk point and lead us out of the dark ages.

Michael Austin, Valemount