Now that the bulk of construction activity has been reduced on the site of Plan B for the winter, maybe it’s a good time to step back and reflect on the experience.
This project has provided an opportunity for more citizens to become actively engaged in the affairs of government than has occurred for a long time. While this awakening of citizen voices is, and will continue to be, a lasting legacy of Plan B; how nice it would be if, by stopping the project entirely, the legacy became that these voices were actually heard.
It’s not a novel idea to rethink and even cancel such a large undertaking. In fact, such an action would do a lot to restore public confidence in the ability of our government to make responsible decisions. Cancelling Plan B is still a reasonable option and would be cheaper financially than following through with the rest of it. Some newly planted trees and hiking trails on the hills of Bonshaw would be delightful to see and could stand as a monument to good government; government brave enough to admit when it’s wrong and wise enough to allow reason to prevail.
Given the prevalence of issues of public concern (HST, fracking, land use, etc) we can all expect citizens’ voices not to disappear anytime soon. Government would be wise to start working with the public and not against it. Rethinking this Plan B burden would be an excellent start.
What man and machines can do, man and machines can undo.
Sarah Saunders,
Argyle Shore
