I've been ranting about jackassary in this town for six years now, and I think it should be noted that I've never once said a bad thing about our Chamber of Commerce. I've even been a member for a number of years. Granted, my meager earnings haven't been enough to afford entrance to many of their lunches or events, but still, I see value in the chamber as a businessman and as a citizen of Squamish.So it is with much deliberation that I try to respond to countless people saying: "the chamber was bought!" What does that even mean? Yes this refers to news that Garibaldi at Squamish (GAS) gave chamber bigwigs a helicopter ride just before the chamber gave GAS a glowing recommendation. But bought? That's ridiculous. They don't need money and they're already the most powerful political force in town. Just look at our last election, every single new councillor was hip deep in the chamber, a trend that goes way back in the history books.My biggest surprise was that they didn't warn their members, and I always thought the chamber was concerned about the community as a whole. Please understand, that is not an insult. The business community needs an organization and the chamber does a very good job providing that service. So, strictly looking at business opportunities, of course the chamber will endorse GAS. One of my concerns is that people are willing to endorse GAS without knowing how much it will cost taxpayers. For those that don't give a rat's ass about environmental issues, you're not alone. But I bet you give a huge rat's ass about your taxes. For Jiminy's sake man, we're talking about building a community larger than the one we have. That's roads, sewers, schools, fire department, policing, and lord help us if we're suckered into maintenance.What really sucks about this timing is that very few decision makers will be able to look at this project without seeing it as "our saviour." This is ridiculous, yet we're in the pathetic position of having absolutely no other options on the table at this time. This is entirely due to a downright embarrassing lack of vision in our municipal council chambers. So the people of Squamish are right to be afraid of this development. After all, we're being led by the same incompetent negotiators that appeared to back the sale of BC Rail, refused to sue CN Rail when they poisoned our river, didn't get the Olympic hockey rink Hell, we haven't even heard "boo" after a company blatantly spit in our face when logging the Malamute. With a track record like that, no wonder people are nervous. One thing is for sure, I share the same feelings as the vast majority of people in town. I would love a little ski hill. I would not love to see our lakes altered in any way. And before I get in bed with anyone, I want to know how much it's going to cost me.Visit Bryan's archive at cynicalsunshine.com.
