Congratulations to the mayor and council for returning democracy to Lax Kw’alaams.
Earlier, a much-ballyhooed “near-unanimous” rejection — reported loudly by national media outlets — of the Pacific NorthWest (PNW) LNG project was allegedly conducted with just a show of hands during a somewhat public meeting. Last month, the Lax Kw’alaams Band held an engaged and well-informed vote on continuing talks.
Obviously, not all are in favour. With a vote of this scale and importance, in a true democracy, there are never unanimous results. But the 65.5 per cent “yes” vote is dramatic.
Detractors to the vote, many of whom hail from the concrete paradises of the Lower Mainland or urban elsewhere, complain they did not receive a ballot in time — hardly a legitimate beef if, as they contend, they were truly concerned. Polling stations were open for three days (far cry from even our national elections) at several sites and long distance members were mailed ballots in plenty of time.
At the end of the day, this is a triumph of democracy and common sense over threats, brow-beating, strong-arm tactics and hysteria.
