This piece started out to be on the subject of the Town of Golden and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District’s decision to change the time zone that we are in from being the same as Alberta’s to being the same as the rest of British Columbia’s. I understand that they made that decision last week. But it has evolved from that to being a piece on the process by which they made their decision.
How was that decision made?
Now we all know that municipalities and regional districts are the local governing bodies in B.C., and they are quite necessary. It wouldn’t work for the province in Victoria to be making all the decisions on how the local areas are to operate. Just imagine if Victoria had to decide on which days garbage pickup was to occur on various streets, and how much dog licences should cost. We clearly need local councils and boards, and not only for very small issues like I just mentioned. Many decisions by those bodies are huge in scope and importance, and there is never a single decision in which all citizens agree with their elected local officials.
But having said all those nice things, there are other decisions that are simply too sensitive to be decided by those bodies and should be decided by the people in a referendum, and it’s up to the local body having jurisdiction to decide what decisions those are.
Deciding upon which time zone to be in is one of them.
So why wasn’t it taken to referendum?
Well, it’s easy to figure out that not every local body likes referendums, since it takes the decision out of its hands and gives it to someone else, in this case the local people. And if the issue is one which the local elected body disagrees with the people, you can be sure that it won’t go to a vote. Someone might say that that would never happen, surely not, our reps on our boards and councils will always know the people’s wishes and vote as the people would have them vote.
And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. Maybe two bridges, because if you would believe it once you’d probably believe it twice.
You may know the story, but in case you don’t, I’ll tell you.
In the first half of 1986 I was the Area ‘A’ Director and there were four aldermen and a mayor on town council. The council wanted a badly needed new arena while I supported a ski hill because I believed it would bring greater economic benefits to the valley, which would then in turn help us pay for a new arena. I urged the town council to authorize a referendum supporting a ski hill, but they would not. So we at the Golden Star conducted an opinion survey of both town and rural residents. The result of the survey clearly showed that both town and rural residents supported a ski hill, but the council still wouldn’t go ahead with a referendum regarding a ski hill. And even when the Area ‘A’ residents passed their referendum to go ahead with a ski hill, the town council still would not agree. Later, in the fall of that year, they did so, the referendum was passed and thankfully, the rest is history.
But the point is, elected bodies do not always do what their people want.
Now if it’s just a case of the elected body not knowing what the people want, then it’s only an issue of them not doing their homework. But if there is a good possibility of a difference of opinion between the elected body and the people the best way to solve that is to have a referendum.
Referendums are not only a friend of the people, they are also a friend of the elected people involved, because if the result of the referendum turns out to be a mistake, the people can’t blame the council or board that gave them a referendum.
So let’s talk just a bit about the issue here, the choice of time zone.
I am certainly not the only one who will remember that we used to be on B.C. time. It was changed in an August 30, 1972 referendum conducted by the province, with people in five provincial ridings along the Alberta border choosing to go with Alberta time.
Notice that the province chose a referendum to decide the issue. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be able to change what was done fifty years ago, but it should be done with solid public support, and it’s my opinion that the residents of our area do not support a change to B.C. time.
What we have now has worked for fifty-four years; it must be well accepted by the people.
In addition, at the present time, the area in the East Kootenay Regional District from Spillimacheen of the U.S. border has decided to stay with Alberta time. Now there clearly has to be a border between the time zones somewhere, but doesn’t it make more sense to have it in an unpopulated area such as Rogers Pass than in a populated area where people could be crossing from one zone into the other every day?
The first Premier Bennett, the guy known as Wacky Bennett, who governed this province for twenty years, had a saying when he suspected he may have taken an unwise position. He would say “We’ll take a second look.”
I think that the Golden Town Council and CSRD should take a second look at this issue and take it to the people in the form of a referendum, or even just an opinion survey. Delivering what the people want should be, and I’m sure really is, the goal of both bodies. It would take a little extra time, but it would be time well spent.
