The secrets are out.
Err, I mean – they were restated.
The province’s inspection report into the Town of Athabasca’s affairs didn’t reveal any really new information to us.
Pretty much everyone we spoke to said the same thing – there were no big surprises.
From council dysfunction and procedural bungles to residency and personnel issues, nothing was earth-shattering. We had reported on most of it at this newspaper, in fact.
So what is the point of this report?
“This municipal inspection report can serve as an accountability tool to serve current and future officials with insights and recommendations on recent local issues and concerns,” the report states.
I’d like to think that is what our newspaper does, too, every single week. But I suppose people can take this report up on their soapboxes now as another source of vindication, absolution and justification. Or not.
On a more serious note, the report is also the first step in a provincial intervention. If the town does not build an adequate plan to address the concerns raised in the report, the minister of Municipal Affairs can bring the hammer down in the form of “directives.”
The last line of the report is an interesting one, too: “The council in the upcoming term will have a great responsibility to work as a unified force, like a river, to maintain the steadfast governance that the Town of Athabasca needs and deserves.”
The thing about democracy is that it is not just the council that holds this responsibility. It’s not just Municipal Affairs.
It’s each and every person in town.
Each person who lives here holds a portion of the responsibility for what happened and what will happen.
This report came to be when 832 people signed a petition asking for it. That’s democracy in action.
Nomination day is coming up for council positions. When setting the date for the report’s release, councillors noted that they wanted the information contained within out in time for people to digest its contents before that big day.
Don’t put this report on a shelf. Read it. Discuss it. Challenge it and work with it.
Keep it in mind whether you’re putting your name on the list of candidates or supporting someone else’s. Ask if your potential representatives will deal with these issues and how they will.
Actually use the materials in this document to help our government – and our region – develop and evolve.
