With Quest University physicist Andrew Hamilton occupying a council seat, the concept of duality comes to mind. Say what? In the strange world of quantum physics, photons (light particles) and electrons can be in two states simultaneously.
That is, they can be both particles and waves at the same time.
Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger even provided a famous thought experiment to underscore the strange world of quantum mechanics.
He said if a cat was placed in a sealed box, along with some potentially lethal radioactive material, the cat’s fate would be uncertain until the box is opened.
In effect, he figured the feline would be both dead and alive at the same time, just as photons and electrons can be waves and particles simultaneously.
So how does that off-the-wall scenario apply to Squamish?
As it turns out, duality is built into much around this neck of the woods.
We have urban sprawl at the same time as we have high-density development. We can have a sense of community while at least six separate communities thrive under the District umbrella.
We are experiencing an exodus of disenchanted residents at the same time as we have folks busting the doors down to come here.
We have a long-standing forestry operation right across from the cutting-edge Carbon Engineering facility on the Mamquam Blind Channel.
We are a green tech hub at the same time as proven GGE reduction strategies, like cutting back on single-occupancy vehicles in favour of regional transit, remain stalled at the provincial government level.
We have an opportunity to develop outside the flood plain with the spurned Cheema lands in the Highlands, at the same time as we continue rapid development in known flood zones.
We advertise Squamish as an excellent place for young families at the same time as we have a critical lack of childcare facilities, and many locals no longer have a family physician.
We claim to give equitable treatment to all age groups. Still, critical care for our most vulnerable elders still draws less enthusiasm and financial backing than other projects like the Brennan Park Rec Centre.
We say the health and welfare of community members are paramount, but our hospital has very limited capacity and staff relative to population growth.
It also lacks critical diagnostic equipment like MRI machines.
Those circumstances create the need to send far too many residents to Lions Gate Hospital in North Van for significant procedures and hospital stays.
We develop residential housing with reckless abandon while affordable housing is still lacking.
We tell folks to refrain from driving their vehicles to work and instead ask them to use other means of locomotion, such as cycling or walking, while weather and distance frequently mitigate against those options.
In other words, as Schrödinger would say, Yin and Yang can be one and the same in Squamish. A flipped coin can show heads and tales simultaneously. Who knew?
Helmut Manzl is a long-time Squamish resident and political commentator.
