Editor:
Kudos to the Gibsons Mayor and Council for experimenting with a new way of inviting the voice of the people into the public hearing process! This has the potential to make a real difference to the development of our Official Community Plan.
The old-style method of public participation gives the loudest voice to the “squeaky wheel” on either side of the question. It is doomed to invite confrontation and divisiveness. Once a person experiences an old-style public meeting, they may choose to never attend another.
It is not surprising to me that a bunch of folks from very diverse backgrounds discover that they share “a surprisingly similar set of values.” I have witnessed this over and over again when the process for involving people in challenging conversations is designed for dialogue. Through dialogue, conflicting points of view have the opportunity to result in learning by all involved.
Thank you to the members of the Gibsons Residents Assembly and the Town Council.
Doug Marteinson
Gibsons
