With youth, focus on facts

Dear editor: These are the four words I focused on last week when I had the privilege of talking to Grade 11 Summerland Secondary School students in Mr. Dave Stathers’ civics class about the proposed Banks Crescent condo development.

The students are thinking about the possible benefits and negative effects of the development.

Opinion vs. Fact: I gave the students my opinion that very few facts have been presented to date. However there has been a lot of opinion presented as fact.

One example of presenting an opinion as fact is when the developer (the Lark Group) repeatedly says that the 424-unit condo development will not have any impact on the aquifer or the trout hatchery – the developer has yet to show any facts to back up their claim. There are too many other examples to list here.

Bias: I said to the students that, in my opinion, I perceive that bias has crept into the decision making process. You hear it in the tone of the mayor from Day 1 (18 months ago) talking about the benefits of the development without equally talking about the possible significant negative effects.

When in council chambers, senior staff never talk about why Banks Crescent might not be a great location for a supposed seniors’ condo development and instead the town should be focused on affordable housing rather than adding even more unaffordable housing!

What we heard from staff about the development related to planning was a theory using chicken and egg metaphors (which I still don’t understand!). I also perceive bias when senior staff respond to questions from Council and provide responses that are sometimes factually incorrect and seem to always weigh in favour of the developer.

Trust: I told the students that, in my opinion, trust in the decision making processes is critically important. I do not trust the decision making process because I perceive there is bias and so much opinion has been stated and seemingly accepted as fact (it is left up to council members to decipher what is fact versus opinion).

I do not trust the developer because they have never shown a desire to be part of our community, to address our concerns, understand what makes Summerlander’s tick and to propose a development that actually meets our needs.

By the way, I was so impressed with how bright those Grade 11 students are – they have great futures ahead of them! Doug Wahl Summerland