Dear editor,Change is typically a good thing but based on the ideology and direction of where our community is going I would suggest that the Comox Valley has taken on a regressive direction.This city used to have a sense of hope that its future would bring bigger and better things and sadly that has changed. The litmus test of failure is having third-generation residents of the Comox Valley having to relocate due to the recent wave of opposition to anything that resembles employment growth or economic growth.Our biggest export is young working families leaving for northern B.C. and Alberta due to the lack of opportunity and lack of vision that our community seemingly embraces. Self-styled environmental experts and whiz kids with plenty of free time protest and lobby against any investment opportunity that comes to the Valley and the results speak for themselves.Fifth Street is looking like a vacant ghetto due to the flat local economy and buildings like the old McConochies Furniture store continue to stay vacant due to city council and their investment-killing permitting policies.Local pubs and restaurants suffer and the municipal governments seem to have financial shortfalls everywhere that property owners ultimately end up having to cover.Sadly, managing mediocrity and borderline poverty appear to be the upward trend in the Valley as opposed to managing opportunity.The recent hysteria regarding the coal mine is a glowing example of the misguided and misinformed, pursuing an agenda that is infirm of purpose on a myriad of levels resulting in more of the same do nothing culture that pervades this community. Lost in all of the misinformed information being disseminated by the opposition groups are the opportunities that could be leveraged from this coal mine such as the much-needed infrastructure in all areas of the comox valley and the spin of economics of having a mine with 400 full-time employees making a minimum of 100k a year. What’s the future of our community? Land speculation predicated on pensioners? Military spending? Eco tours? Bigger municipal governments and more process?If the rest of our province and country pursued the same agenda, we would be broke and unable to pay for the much-needed government programs that a huge part of our demographic benefit from. I think this region can do a lot better!Ken Brown,Comox Valley

Comox Valley Record