Making hay at the Harvest Festival

You're not going to see any photos of me here from last night at the Douglas College Foundation's '70s-themed gala. Suffice to say that I was happy to be able to squeeze into a rather garish, but completely authentic suit that I wore in 1973-'74!
The photos above are from the City of Coquitlam's Harvest Festival, which took place yesterday at the Inspiration Garden, a lovely little patch of green at the southeast corner of the park complex around Lafarge Lake.
The musicians were a group called 5 On A String, and they provided great bluegrass music. The young ladies pictured on one of the lovely sculptural benches both work for the city's Parks & Rec dept. I was surprised to learn that, among the projects they are involved with, are ones in which a city rep tours local schools to talk about the benefits of recycling, and another in which city reps go door-to-door to talk about green waste. The high cost of going green...

Coquitlam's slow business growth

The Vancouver Sun's front-page story today, about that city's depressing record of business-licence growth, carries a table that displays several cities' figures from 1998 to 2010. Coquitlam's stats are not included, so I went to Metro Vancouver's website, and dug up the figures myself.

What I found was not very impressive.

The city posted a net business-licence gain of 789 over the period, a figure that ties it for 10th best of the 19 reporting municipalities. But smaller Port Moody reported a whopping 1,441-licence increase over the same period, and Port Coquitlam showed an increase of 984.

Worse yet was the percentage change. Port Moody's increase translates to a 118.5% gain, and Port Coquitlam's to a 43.1% boost.

Coquitlam's? Well, starting with 4,700 licences in 1998, and ending with 5,489 licences in 2010 gives us a mere 16.8% increase in business licences. That's five points less that the Metro average -- an average that is weighed down by the City of Vancouver's miserable 0.09% increase. Surrey, on the other hand, saw its business licences increase by 5,571, which works out to a 43.85% boost. Langley Township reports a whopping increase of 159.6%.

All in all, Coquitlam doesn't have much to be proud of. It's yet more evidence that Council needs to recommit itself to reducing the big gap between the property-tax rate that local businesses pay and that which homeowners pay. Remember: According to the CFIB, Coquitlam's gap was the worst of all the province's biggest municipalities in 2010 (worse than even Vancouver's notorious gap), and was the fourth highest of any municipality in the province. In 2010, the business tax rate was a ruinous 4.69 times as high as the residential rate.

By signing the CFIB's Taxpayer Pledge, I've committed myself to lowering the gap, improving the business environment, thus spurring the economy, and increasing tax revenue so that residential rates can be held in check as well.
Graphic from asianweek.com.

Thankfully, we're not Greece!

Well, then. The election campaign is certainly starting to heat up. The evidence is found in the publication on Friday, in both the Now and the News, of a letter to the editor from Henry A. Pritchard, of Coquitlam. Here's a link to the Now's version of it.
Mr. Pritchard is, of course, entitled to his opinion. And, as a professional editorialist and debater, it was actually my business to advance interesting and sometimes provocative ideas and opinions. The column in question, published in the March 25 issue of the Tri-City News, certainly did that. I invite you to read it for yourself on the paper's website.
That said, I certainly recognize that the job of a city councillor will be far different than that of a professional opinion writer. I won't be telling people what I think; rather, I'll be listening anew, weighing the pros and cons, and making decisions based on what's best for Coquitlam.
Meantime, I have sent the following response to the Now. I offered it to the News, but the editor has a policy of not publishing any letters from candidates during a campaign.

The writer of this letter criticized me for, in part, expressing support last spring, in an opinion piece published elsewhere, for the right of a near-insolvent government to take extraordinary action to protect the treasury from insolvency. I am flattered that he would save my clippings for so long, but I must take issue with him. Specifically, I suggest that he need only look to the current situation in Greece to see why my position is justified. Thankfully, Coquitlam is not facing any such crisis. As such, what’s needed going forward is simply a responsible and accountable approach to civic finances—one that will protect our valued services while, at the same time, reduce the too-high growth rate of property taxes.

Graphic from: http://www.graphic-impressions.co.uk/ website.

Officially official now

Today was the final day for candidates to withdraw from the election, and since I didn't change my mind (and never even considered it, actually!), it can be said that I am now an officially official candidate for Coquitlam Council in the November 19, 2011 general election. Above is the first page of the official notice the City is now distributing.

It's a bit hard to see, but what's of particular note in the document is that School Trustee candidate Gail Alty, a long-time veteran of the board, now lists her residence as being in East Sooke (Vancouver Island!). This certainly can't help her campaign.

Similarly, Council candidate Fred Soofi has declared that he lives in Anmore--a fact that I pointed out in a Facebook note several days ago. I later crossed paths with Fred at a Maillardville fundraiser, and he was quick to assert to me and several other candidates that he is now looking to buy a residence in Coquitlam.

I responded that it was certainly too bad for his candidacy that he had failed to make the purchase and move to Coquitlam before filing his nomination papers.

You call that consultation?

We've just distributed the following news release to news outlets throughout the Metro Vancouver area. An important subject:

NEWS RELEASE
October 11, 2011

O’Neill slams Metro for poor budget consultation

COQUITLAM – Coquitlam City Council candidate Terry O’Neill is charging that Metro Vancouver is thwarting public participation in the region’s 2012 budget-planning process.

O’Neill points out that a newspaper advertisement, placed by Metro Vancouver in at least one major daily Vancouver newspaper on October 8, encouraged the public to visit Metro’s website, www.metrovancouver.org, to view a presentation on the region’s budget plans, and then to comment or ask questions from Oct. 12-14.

However, as of midday October 11, Metro’s website contained no links to any such presentation. Employing the site’s search engine, to find “2012 Budget Public Consultation Forum,” led website users to a blank page. A spokesman for Metro later said the organization was working to post the material by day’s end.

“How can Metro Vancouver expect the public to ask intelligent questions or make meaningful comments on its budget plans when, on the eve of the narrow window in which the public actually has the opportunity to participate online in the planning, Metro hasn’t even disclosed its promised budget presentation?” O’Neill asks. “It looks like they’re just going through the motions.”

Furthermore, Metro Vancouver’s budget-approval schedule gives board members precious little time to consider what public input there might be. In fact, Metro Vancouver’s Finance Committee is scheduled to meet October 13—in the middle of the online public-consultation process.

Metro then plans to stage a budget workshop for the board on October 19, at which time it hopes the draft budget will be endorsed, along with recommendations for adoption of the budget and related bylaws by the Board on October 28th.

The draft 2012 budget* calls for a 1.2-percent spending increase. Metro predicts the overall impact on a theoretical average household in the region (assessed value of $605,000) would be an increase of $11 in taxes and charges, for a total of $524.

“Thankfully, the planned rise in expenditures is well below this year’s spending increase of over five percent,” O’Neill says. “But the public should still be a concerned about the long-term trend of Metro’s spending increases, particularly in light of Metro mayors’ recent decision to boost property and gasoline taxes to pay for the Evergreen Line.”

Over the four-year period from 2005 to 2009, Metro Vancouver’s annual expenditures grew by an average 7.5 percent a year. This compares to average annual population growth of only 1.7 percent, and average annual inflation (as measured by the Consumer Price Index) of only 1.8 percent.

-30-

*http://www.metrovancouver.org/boards/Finance%20Committee/Finance_Committee-October_13_2011-Agenda.pdf

CUPE's official candidate of record

I've known for a long time that the winning candidate in the last byelection, Neal Nicholson, received a huge portion of his funds from unions, and that he was the unofficial and unacknowledged (by the local press, anyway) "labour" candidate.
But what I didn't learn until recently is that the Canadian Union of Public Employees (British Columbia) was actually the candidate's official "Campaign Organizer." Check it out for yourself at this City of Coquitlam link.
Can you imagine the howls from the Left and the "mainstream media" if, for example, the Business Council of British Columbia had fielded its own candidate, provided a majority of the candidate's campaign funds, and organized the candidate's campaign?
Just so there's no misunderstanding, I am not suggesting that Mr. Nicholson and CUPE did anything wrong, immoral or illegal. On the contrary, they were perfectly within their rights to act as they did. It's just that I think the relationship between the candidate, who is running for re-election, and the union, which represents many City of Coquitlam workers, should be more widely known.

Respect rights, protect safety

Property rights. Animal rights. Farmers' rights. Public safety. The bowhunting-bears story, of which I wrote earlier today, touches on all these issues.
For this reason, it's imperative that, before they make a final decision on outlawing bowhunting in the City of Coquitlam, councillors take all the above-mentioned factors into consideration. And, in doing so, council should act dispassionately, so rights are respected and safety truly protected.
On the latter issue, the central question is whether a ban on bowhunting will have the unintended consequence of leading to more discharge of firearms by farmers protecting their crops. And, if so, whether this will end up decreasing, not increasing, public safety.
I've been in touch with several organizations today, and one of them is stating in no uncertain terms that a bowhunting ban would actually decrease public safety.
Ted Kennedy, VP of the bowhunting section of the B.C. Archer Association, has this to say about the subject:
"As VP of bowhunting and a master bowhunting course conductor, the issue at hand is important to me and the bow hunting community. I would be glad to address council or answer any questions they may have.
"I certainly believe the risk to the public is much greater with rifles. The effective distance of a bow is considerably shorter, most shots taken under 50 yds. As to the other issues mentioned, I believe I can demonstrate the benefits of bow hunting. Many other communities around the province support bowhunting as a safe practice."
His is just one of many voices that need to be heard before a final decision is made.

Which hunting method 'bears' the greater public risk?

Acting on a notice of motion presented two weeks ago by Councillor Selina Robinson, Coquitlam council last night unanimously passed a resolution calling for the City to develop “an appropriate prohibition of bow hunting” in city limits.

Given the assertions made at council about some deplorable bow-hunting practices now taking place in Coquitlam, councillors’ support of the motion is quite understandable. However, one would have liked to have seen more evidence presented to support Robinson’s contention that the bow-hunting ban’s primary effect would be to increase public safety.

Robinson’s notice contended that there had been “at least two documented instances of bow hunting of bears in Coquitlam this past summer, resulting in at least one bear being seriously injured, which in turn resulted in the bear leaving private property and wandering into a city park and other public areas.”

She further stated that “bow hunting of animals not only causes animals to suffer, but creates a risk to human safety from an injured animal shot with a bow and arrow.”

At last night’s council meeting, more information was presented: the bears in question were apparently rambling around on blueberry farms in the Deboughville slough area; farmers were allegedly inviting people to come onto the farms to shoot the bears (and perhaps even charging for the right); and, under provincial legislation, farmers actually have the right to shoot wildlife to protect their crops.

As distasteful and emotionally upsetting (especially to councillors such as Mae Reid, a committed animal lover) as the shooting-for-sport assertions are, if we are to take Robinson on her word, the central focus of the issue here is public safety, not animal cruelty or animal rights.

This being the case, then one might reasonably ask whether, if bow-hunting were banned, and given that farmers would still have the right to use high-powered rifles to shoot bears, the ban would actually increase safety to the public.

To answer the question, one would have to consider a number of factors, including whether hunters using bows are more likely to injure rather than kill bears, compared to hunters using rifles. In other words, which hunting method creates the greater risk of an injured beast roaming into public areas?

As well, one would also need to know whether hunters are more likely to completely miss their target using a bow or a rifle. In other words, which hunting method creates the greater risk of a stray projectile (arrow or bullet) travelling into a public area, and perhaps hitting an innocent bystander? One thing we do know is that a bullet can certainly travel a far greater distance than an arrow can.

And so, if protection of the public is the prime concern here--and I believe it should be--then council should ascertain all the facts about the two methods of hunting before making any decisions. Council might also look into the bigger question of allowing any sort of hunting in and around populated or park areas.

Bottom line: we’ve seen far too many instances of “unintended consequences” taking place when politicians enact a feel-good policy or law in response to a powerful emotional argument. The last thing we need here is a law that has the unintended consequence of actually decreasing public safety.

Photo of Coquitlam-area bear from news1130.com

Snapping to attention

I wrote, below, about the afternoon event I attended yesterday. The evening was enjoyably taken up with a celebration at the John B Pub marking the First Year Anniversary of Snap Coquitlam.
In just 12 months, Snap's Lisa and Dylan have become an important part of Coquitlam's social fabric, giving us in-depth photo coverage of an amazing variety of events that transpire in our community. From bottle drives to annual festivals, someone from the Snap team always seems to be there.
The celebration was a memorable one, and aside from the "you could hear a pin drop" moment when Lisa announced she was running for council -- followed by a quick admission that she was just joking -- the evening was marked by much good cheer and great conversation.
Snap's motto is "capturing life and entertainment." The party did a good job of doing that too!
Pictures show Lisa, Dylan and me, and also some of the many celebrants.
Once again: Congratulations to Snap Coquitlam for a job well done!

Celebrating Tri-Cities literacy

One of the better things about campaigning for council is the opportunity it affords a candidate to meet many people, not only on the doorstep, but also at the varied events to which one suddenly finds oneself invited.
Yesterday afternoon and evening, I had the pleasure of participating in two, the first of which was the Tri-Cities Literacy Celebration, at the Poirier branch of the Coquiltam Public Library.
The gathering not only gave library Director Rhian Piprell the opportunity to show off the library's book bus (pictured with Ms. Piprell, above), but also to thank the school district and many other individuals and organizatiions involved in the important project. In 2005, the Tri-Cities Literacy Committee was formed to explore ways to enhance literacy in our community, and in 2008, the commiteee began to implement a three-year Community Literacy Plan.
Now, there's a variety of effective programs, inluding: Adult Literacy Book Club, the Big Books program, Books for BC Babies, Adult Literacy Tutoring Buddies, Health Literacy Kits for ESL Learners, the Imagination Library, English Practice Groups, and a Volunteer Language Bank. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Campaign flyer takes flight

In the early stages of the campaign, and before my full, four-page campaign brochure is ready for distribution, I've been handing out little one-page flyers. Here's the latest version of the flyer I'm giving to folks as I go door to door throughout Coquitlam.

In defence of the plan for an auditor-general

I've met Port Moody mayoral candidate Robert Simons at several community events over the years, and he seems like an well-intentioned and intelligent fellow. But I took issue with a letter he recently wrote to the editor of The Coquitlam Now, and so I fired off a response, which I am happy to report has been published in today's paper. Here's the full text of what I submitted:

Re: “Municipal auditor a great idea, but who will pick up the tab?”, letter to the editor, Friday, Sept. 23.
Port Moody mayoral candidate Robert Simons writes that he believes “there is merit” in the provincial government’s plan to establish an auditor-general for municipalities. However, he then equivocates by wondering not only about who will pay for what he calls the “substantial cost” of the office but also about whether the expenditure is even justifiable in a “time of fiscal restraint and economic challenge.”
It seems clear, however, that he has it exactly backwards. Rather than precluding consideration of the establishment of a new level of oversight on our municipalities’ finances, the parlous state of the current economy actually demands it. In other words, precisely because money is tight, we need an auditor-general’s office to ensure that every dollar is spent wisely.
This might not be the case if municipalities had responded to the ongoing economic downturn with the same prudence that non-governmental sectors did. But the fact is they did not.
Whereas families and small businesses had to trim their sails by cutting spending and reducing overall budgets, cities failed to do so. One of the lamentably predictable results of this in Coquitlam, for example, is the (before-grant) increase of 22% we’ve seen on our personal property-tax bill from 2008 to the present. And that’s not counting an even steeper rise in the utility fee.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business reported in 2010 that operational expenditures “in the vast majority of B.C.’s municipalities” were expanding at an “unsustainable rate.” There is no evidence the trend has been reversed.
Surely, a new office of the municipal auditor-general, which would conduct a limited number of value-for-money performance audits every year, can only help municipal governments ensure they are spending their money wisely and, by so doing, point the way to cost savings and, ultimately, lower property-tax bills.
Can we afford to establish a municipal auditor-general? The better question is, Can afford NOT to establish a municipal auditor-general?
Terry O’Neill
Candidate for City Council, Coquitlam

Taking the plunge. Signing the Pledge

We'll I've done it. This morning I joined several other politicians and candidates (including Andy Shen and Linda Reimer of Coquitlam) in signing the Canadian Federation of Independent Business's new Taxpayer Pledge.
Several TV news crews were on hand, as well as a reporter for the Province, so I expect a fair bit of coverage tonight and tomorrow.
The photos show Shachi Kurl of the CFIB and me at the event, a solo shot of me, and a close-up of the pledge form.
Here's the text of the press release I just distributed:

NEWS RELEASE
Sept. 28, 2011

Coquitlam candidate O’Neill signs CFIB pledge

COQUITLAM – City Council candidate Terry O’Neill joined several prominent B.C. civic politicians today in Vancouver at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’s launch of its new Taxpayer Pledge campaign.

O’Neill joined the likes of Vancouver mayoral candidate Susan Anton and incumbent Councillors Linda Reimer of Coquitlam and Diana Dilworth of Port Moody in signing a pledge committing themselves to the principles of property-tax fairness, spending restraint, and openness, transparency and accountability.

“The CFIB is to be commended for launching a campaign which has taxpayers’ best interests at its heart,” O’Neill commented. “I’m proud to be in the first wave of what I predict will be an important and impactful campaign.”

O’Neill says his commitment to the principles contained in the pledge reflect concerns expressed to him in recent months by residents and business leaders alike.

The City of Coquitlam’s recently released citizen-satisfaction survey found that, for the first time in the survey's history, more residents were in favour of cutting services (46%) than increasing taxes (45%). As recently as 2007, 58% of respondents were saying they favoured increasing taxes, compared with only 31% who supported cutting services.

“I think it’s clear we’ve reached a tipping point,” O’Neill said. “It’s time to take action to ease the burden on business while also making home ownership more affordable.”

Taking the CFIB pledge

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is having a news conference at 10:15 a.m. this morning in downtown Vancouver to unveil their first wave of civic politicians taking the CFIB's fiscal-responsibility pledge.
The event will feature sitting politicians, and is timed to coincide with the UBCM convention taking place in Vancouver this week.
I'm been in constant contact with the CFIB on this important issue, and will be attending the event, although I won't be part of the official first batch of pledge-takers. My turn comes later.
As designed by the CFIB, the Pledge enshrines three principles for the term ahead:
1) Property Tax Fairness – by committing to reduce the gap between what commercial property and residential property owners pay, you would be committing to help create conditions that enable small businesses in your community to thrive.
2) Reasonable Spending – by committing to keep operating spending increases reasonable, ie, at or below the level of population growth and inflation or the rate of growth in disposable income, you are giving yourself the fiscal room to reduce taxes and fees, not increase them.
3) Transparency, Openness and Accountability – by supporting in principle, the creation of a Municipal Auditor General for BC, you are building on and enhancing your already existing systems of financial reporting, and standing to benefit from the best practices identified through performance audits.
Great stuff, and exactly what the times are calling for. More evidence of the timeliness can certainly be found in Jon Ferry's column in this morning's Province.

The Case for a Municipal Auditor-General

This is from the "music to my ears" file: an opinion piece that has just been circulated by Ida Chong, the Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, in which she explains why a Municipal Auditor-General is needed. I especially like Minister Chong's declaration about "value-for-money performance audits" being performed. Like I said, music to my ears.

Here's the entire news release/opinion piece from Victoria:

OPINION-EDITORIAL

Municipal Auditor General will support B.C. communities

By Ida Chong, FCGA
Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development

Sept. 23, 2011

VICTORIA - Premier Christy Clark has made a commitment to set up and fully fund an Office of the Municipal Auditor General for British Columbia. We are working toward that commitment - listening to the views of Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) Executive, local governments, the business community and the general public.

As the global economy has shifted, we have all had to look at how to be innovative with our resources and stretch taxpayer dollars at every level of government. Provincial and federal expenditures are currently reviewed by an auditor general to ensure that taxpayers are getting value for money. Citizens deserve to have that assurance about local government spending.

While the details are still being developed, we know that the Municipal Auditor General will conduct a limited number of value-for-money performance audits every year. The purpose of performance audits is to help local governments in their stewardship of community assets, to identify best practices, and to provide another measure of transparency and accountability for taxpayers.

For example, did funding a new water conservation campaign achieve its objectives of reducing water consumption during peak summer usage? Can a municipality optimize its fire services by delivering the services itself or through a contract with a larger adjoining municipality?

The Municipal Auditor General will not make or overrule policy decisions of elected officials (such as tax rates or land use); call into question the merits of local government program policies or objectives; make binding recommendations or impose requirements; or duplicate or displace current accountability requirements (such as local governments hiring independent auditors for annual financial audits).

Rather, I see the Office of the Municipal Auditor General as a tremendous opportunity to build on the existing accountability and strength of our local government system. And I am pleased that several locally elected officials have expressed their community's support for a Municipal Auditor General.

I look forward to further discussion about how best to structure the Office of the Municipal Auditor General at the upcoming UBCM Convention in Vancouver.

Unions and the political process

Writing in the Financial section of today's National Post, Neils Veldhuis and Amela Karabegovic say, "It is high time the government forced [labour unions] to open their books" to reveal how much they spend on political campaigns.
The writers, who are economists with the Fraser Institute, argue that it is unfortunate that, in the Ontario provincial election, "unionized workers footing the bill through forced union dues will be left in the dark about the millions of dollars unions spend on political attack ads and donations to advocacy groups and political parties."
It's a big issue, and one which also captured headlines in today's Vancouver Sun, which reports that the federal Conservatives are accusing the NDP of an illegal cash grab totalling at least $85,000 at the party's June convention in Vancouver. Allegedly, six union spent at least that much, and possibly as much as $160,000, to promote themselves at the convention.
But while there may be fog enshrouding Big Labour's financial backing of candidates and parties at the federal and provincial levels, there's no obscuring unions' influence in civic politics here in B.C.
In Coquitlam, for example, readily available financial-disclosure documents spell out exactly who has received how much and from whom. In the case of the by-election in which I ran a year-and-a-half ago, one candidate--the winning one, Neal Nicholson--received the majority of his funds from Big Labour, specifically the Canadian Union of Public Employees. COPE, the BCGEU, the Firefighters, the local Labour Council, and even the Canadian Labour Congress also pitched in. You can see all the details for yourself by clicking here.
My disclosure statement shows donations from private companies doing business in Coquitlam, family members, friends and neighbours.
One should not think that there's something fundamentally wrong about receiving funds from unions or corporations. It's all part of the political process. Ultimately, it's up to voters to educate themselves on such matters; by doing so, they can certainly better understand where candidates' sympathies might rest.

Celebrating the Spirit of our Community

The Spirit of Community Awards, presented by the Society for Community Development, were handed out last night in conjunction with the Taste of Tri-Cities event. You'll likely read about the awards in local newspapers over the next few days, but I'd like to use this space to give the deserving winners some more-immediate recognition.
In the Arts and Culture category, Helen Daniels was the winner (Theatrix was also nominated).
Community Action: the Soroptomists (Vickie-Marie Ayers, Claudette Friesen and Barb Hobson were other nominees).
Community Volunteerism: Ron Curties (Terry Towner, Anne Lodge, Michael Simms, Jonathan Ho, Jennifer Lee).
Environment: Vanessa LeBourdais (no other finalists).
Neighbour to Neighbour: Chrissy Duncan (no other finalists).
Youth: Best Buddies, the youth leadership group from Dr. Charles Best High School, pictured above (other nominees were My Lynn Quan and Jade Wong).
Douglas College Lifetime Leadership Award in honour of Myrna Popove: Diane Thorne (John Wolff was the other nominee).
Congratulations to all, and a special tip of the hat to singer-songwriter Joyelle Brandt, judges Johanne Dumas, Lisa Landry and Brad West, Master of Ceremonies Wim Vander Zalm and SCD chair Cathy Burpee.

Happy for now, but taxes are too high

Coquitlam City Council has just made public the results of its latest citizen-satisfaction survey and, on the surface, it appears city residents are a pretty satisfied lot. Scratch a bit deeper, however, and there are several areas where it's apparent that there's growing discontent, especially about high property taxes.
First, though, a little anecdote from tonight's council meeting. After Jennifer Renny, senior research manager of Ipsos Reid (which conducted the survey), finished presenting the report to the meeting, Councillor Lou Sekora complained that the report had just been dropped on his desk, and that he hadn't had enough time to digest its contents.
A city staffer calmly responded that, in fact, the report had been mailed to all members of council in July. Seemingly unfazed by this answer--an answer that suggested that Sekora had failed to read a report that was sent to him two months prior--Sekora grumbled something about his having wanted today's report delivered earlier to him so he could have compared its findings to those of the July report. Clearly, however, there was only one report--a fact confirmed to me later by staff. Classic Lou.
Back to the report. The big finding is that "Virtually all (99%) citizens rate the quality of life in the City of Coquitlam positively." That's two points higher than the regional norm, and it's a figure that's three points higher than last year. In fact, over the past nine years, the lowest score was 95% (in 2008).
Significantly, of this year's 99%, 47% of respondents rated the quality of life as "Very Good"--a six-point gain over last year, which had, in turn, been the highest to date.

A Good Quality of Life
Bottom line: more Coquitlam residents rate the quality of life as "Good" than ever before, and more of them are also rating it as "Very Good" than ever before.
It certainly makes sense to me that so many people have the good sense to realize what a fine community we live in, compared not only to less-prosperous and more-poorly managed areas of the province and country, but also to most other parts of the world. We have a wonderful balance of public facilities, recreational amenities, infrastructure, and access to the outdoors.
However, it's not Utopia. "On an unprompted basis, citizens point to transportation as the most important local issue facing the City of Coquitlam (40%)," the report states. Traffic congestion, the Never-Green Line, and lack of rapid and public transit were mentioned.
As well, high taxes and government spending, especially as it relates to property taxes, figured highly as areas of concern.
In fact, it's clear to me that Coquitlam residents are starting to grow quite concerned about the high level of our property taxes. This is evident from a question regarding citizens' choices on the issue of balancing taxation and delivery of services.

Cut Services, Don't Raise Taxes
The report disclosed that, for the first time in the survey's history, more people were in favour of cutting services (46%) than increasing taxes (45%). As recently as 2007, 58% of respondents were saying they favoured increasing taxes, compared with only 31% who supported cutting services.
I believe that the fact the balance has now tipped reflects the fact that property taxes have risen at far too high of a rate, especially for many local businesses.
It's a message that Councillors and candidates will ignore at their peril.

Three months and counting

It's now been three months since the Stanley Cup riot of Wednesday, June 15. Three months--91 days, to be exact--and still not a single charge against any of the rioters.
This isn't a civic issue, and it's not a subject that's likely to arise during the campaign, but it's still something that, understandably, a great many people care about very deeply.
The riot was a disgrace. And our glacial justice system is also a disgrace.
At least, the Vancouver Police Department's new website, which was launched in order to give the public the opportunity to help police identify the miscreants, is proving to be a success.

A personal memory of 9/11

As the world marks the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the U.S., and honours the innocent (and, in many cases, heroic) men and women who lost their lives that day, most of us will also remember exactly where we were and what we were doing on that unforgettable morning. Please allow me to share my memories:
I was headed to YVR, scheduled to fly on a 7 a.m. flight to Calgary for a meeting with my colleagues at The Report magazine, that morning. It was only when I pulled into the YVR parking lot at about 5:50 a.m. (8:50 a.m. Eastern) that I heard the first brief radio report of a plane crashing into one of the World Trade Centre buildings. I thought it was an unfortunate accident, probably involving a small aircraft.
By the time I got to the departure lounge, I learned that another plane had flown into the WTC. And it was apparently no accident. Nevertheless, my fellow passengers and I actually boarded the WestJet plane that was supposed to fly us to Calgary. However, several minutes later, amid rising confusion and uncertainly, the attendants instructed us to de-board and wait in the departures lounge until we could get clearance to fly. Many people were on their cell phones. And a few were sobbing.
After waiting for perhaps 30 minutes, I realized that even if planes were to fly later in the day, I would miss my meeting in Calgary, so I headed back to the parking lot and home to my office. I don't know how much longer the folks in the departure lounge stayed until they finally left.
Later, I realized that my scheduled flight was surely among the first (if not the first) grounded flight in Vancouver, and that if I had been on an Air Canada flight to Calgary that left just a few minutes before my WestJet plane was scheduled to leave, I would have ended up stuck in Calgary for several days because, of course, air traffic ground to a halt because of 9/11.
I have saved my flight documents from that morning -- a souvenir of a dramatic, sorrowful and unforgettable day.