Dear Editor:
We thank Martin Sparkes for his most thoughtful letter, “Yes, but where are the jobs?” (Agassiz-Harrison Observer, 19 March). His insights raise important questions that need to be answered, about the goals and implications of “development.”
However, we note an inconsistency in his thinking. On the one hand, he is rightly concerned about “building jobs in the community.” On the other hand, he refers to residents who “need to travel” away from Agassiz in search of “affordable groceries.” One is not helping to build local jobs nor building “community” by grocery shopping elsewhere! It seems Mr. Sparkes has fallen into the trap of assuming local groceries are not affordable. We have in Agassiz a number of very fine stores for food. Anyone who believes the rumour that local groceries “are 30 per cent higher” has not done proper research, and does not have their facts straight. Neither are they considering all the costs of shopping elsewhere – not only time and fuel, but also the cost to the environment of travel “a few times a week.”
C. and B. Lang Randall
Agassiz
