There is a lot we tend to take for granted in Whistler.
The stunning beauty of the mountains; backyard access to endless recreation in both summer and winter; some of the freshest-tasting water on Earth.
One overlooked, if perhaps mundane item in this category is relative harmony at our municipal council table (in the past decade, at least—I can’t speak to the councils I didn’t cover first-hand, though I have heard stories).
What I can say is that, from 2015 to 2022, I attended nearly every meeting of Whistler’s mayor and council and can count on one hand the number of times things got unnecessarily heated or proceedings got derailed.
As a reporter, I used to pray for something, anything to break up the monotony—a spicy zinger from a disgruntled councillor, or a rogue muffin flying in from the back of the peanut gallery, perhaps.
But taking in some headlines from across the province these days, I’m finding myself increasingly grateful for our boring, consensus-driven councils of recent years.
Since last fall’s municipal election brought new mayors and councils to the table, several municipalities are finding themselves completely unable to function—leading to chaotic scenes in council chambers across the province.
In the small village of Tahsis, on the northern tip of Vancouver Island, a clip from a recent council meeting went viral after a councillor stole the deputy mayor’s gavel (leading to said deputy mayor just banging something else on their desk).
According to CBC News, the chaos—which really must be seen to be fully appreciated—was the result of a long-running feud between one rogue councillor, elected on 91 votes, and the rest of council.
In an email to CBC, the councillor reportedly said, “the level of facism (sic) is unbelievable,” with the rest of council and staff.
Meanwhile, the deputy mayor called it “by far my worst day in local government in the last five years.”
Tahsis isn’t alone.
Both the Village of Harrison Hot Springs and the Village of Lions Bay have reportedly asked the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs for assistance in managing council matters as contentious disputes have led to gridlock.
In Kamloops, all eight elected councillors are openly feuding with the new mayor on a regular basis, while in North Saanich, a councillor resigned recently after referring to the mayor as “Mr. Hitler.”
If you’re a fan of the TV show Parks and Recreation, you might appreciate all of this nonsense.
If, instead, you prefer good governance and a strong, healthy society, you’ll see this for what it is: a cancer.
“I think that since the beginning of time, the interaction of elected officials has always come with passion and conviction and being expected to stand one’s ground,” said UBCM president and Whistler Councillor Jen Ford, in a recent interview with CBC.
“Maybe we have more insight because we can watch council meetings from our living room … but we need to be more aware of our own conduct and hold others to a standard of good conduct.”
I can’t say with certainty what’s behind this uptick. But my educated guess, gleaned from reading about the councils in question and my own experience in covering municipal affairs, is that these towns have elected folks who, A: Don’t really understand how municipal governance (and presumably many other things about the real world) actually works; and/or, B: Don’t care.
But these types have run in elections since before the birth of John A. MacDonald himself. Why the sudden upswing in support for representatives of the Clown Shoes Party?
Let’s just call it the Trump effect—the emboldening or maybe just passive acceptance of ignorance and incompetence; the sad realization of misplaced rage and grievance as both policy and platform.
“I would say it’s been a trend, one I think will continue on,” said management consultant and “governance guru” George Cuff, in a recent interview with CHEK News.
Cuff has four decades of experiencing guiding councils through disagreements—and he says it’s only getting worse.
As reported by CHEK, Cuff says he’s noticed a pattern of a lowered respect for the “rule of law,” council members refusing to respect the democratic process, and council tables being used instead as a platform for promoting personal bents.
(Hmm… now who does that remind you of?)
“This whole notion of common respect and decency is not so common anymore,” Cuff said.
It’s ironic and deeply troubling that this is where we find ourselves as a society, at a point in history where we have instant access to more knowledge than ever before.
But if the governance guru is to be believed, this is only the tip of the nonsensical iceberg. In other words, buckle up: there could be a whole lot of stupid heading your way in the coming decades.
For now, we can at least be grateful for the professional manner in which Whistler’s elected officials and municipal staff conduct themselves, even in disagreement.
We may not always agree on their methods or their outcomes, but Whistler’s overall respectful council harmony is not something we should take for granted.
