Indifference by North Cowichan council about the June 23 amalgamation vote isn’t going to help generate a strong interest from the public.
All the councillors and mayor of North Cowichan answered “opinion reserved” when the question was put to them by the Cowichan Valley Citizen about whether they would be supporting or opposing the amalgamation of the Municipality of North Cowichan and the City of Duncan.
Four Duncan councillors, at least, announced a definite decision, with Sharon Jackson and Tom Duncan against it, and Roger Bruce and John Horgan (not the Premier) indicating they’d be voting in favour.
By not making their intentions known, North Cowichan council members are doing a disservice to people who need to digest some solid reasoning for approving it or rejecting it. Council is best informed to provide important consideration for the public to ponder.
Councillor Al Siebring has since stated he may jump off the fence before June 23 and let everyone know which way he’s leaning. The rest should follow suit to start the ball rolling toward ramping up some hype about this historic event.
Complacency is enough of a concern even during provincial elections when there should be a large turnout at the polls. It’s anyone’s guess whether we’ll get anywhere close to provincial election turnout percentages for this amalgamation vote, but it’s unlikely.
Perhaps if North Cowichan council members can make people understand there are many reasons - and to clearly state what those are - for the public to care, then the turnout might approach a decent level.
The results are not necessarily binding so a low turnout will ensure this could be a chronic waste of time.