File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds)

By Sadie Hunter

In The Loop

HUNTER: Launching into a new era of discourse

Nov 1, 2022 | 4:22 AM

IT SEEMS FITTING TO HAVE MY FIRST COLUMN debut the same day as the inaugural meeting of the new Kamloops City Council.

I’d like to thank CFJC for offering me the opportunity and space to share my thoughts with the rest of the community.

It might surprise you to know this is far from my first column. Over my 20-year writing career I’ve had a number of columns focused on everything from health to science to political satire. It’s definitely been a minute and I’m excited to return to writing.

I joked about titling the column “The Couch Councillor” in a hat tip to the Armchair Mayor but doing so would imply I’ll be limiting my commentary to happenings at City Hall. I plan to cover a wide array of issues of importance to Kamloops and to our community – including municipal politics.

That said, on inauguration day, I want to offer my thoughts to both the incoming council and the community.

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To the new council, a reminder: although you were elected by your supporters, you now represent every resident in Kamloops, whether they voted for you or not.

You are now part of a team making decisions on behalf of all citizens on all issues. Every decision must be made through the lens of what’s in the best interest of the entire community. This might mean occasionally going against your supporters. It might even mean going against what you personally think at times.

It’s easy to point fingers at things you feel are wrong while campaigning and to make sweeping promises of change. Now it’s time to put the adversarial nature of campaign narrative behind you and step into governing. I suggest entering city hall with an open mind, a curious heart and a willingness to learn.

While you might not agree with your new colleagues or staff all the time – be respectful. You all share a love for Kamloops and a desire to do the best job possible. This shared value and purpose can form a strong foundation for working together for the greater good. There is no place for confrontation, derisive language or bullying. You are leaders and you set the tone for the rest of the community through your actions and through your words.

Keep this in mind as you take the Oath of Office. You are pledging to conduct yourself with honour and with respect to the privilege bestowed upon you by the residents of Kamloops who have placed their trust in you to represent them. I suggest taking some time to read through the Oath to reflect on what it really means to you and to set some personal guideposts to ensure the pledge you take translates in how you conduct yourself.

In particular, consider the following aspects of the Oath:

• I will carry out my duties with integrity;
• I will be accountable for the decisions that I make, and the actions that I take, in the course of my duties;
• I will be respectful of others;
• I will demonstrate leadership and collaboration.

For the community, inauguration day is an opportunity to reset the relationship with a new mayor and council. To pause and reflect on expectations.

In a recent interview on CBC’s The Current, Liberal MP Mark Holland talked about the impact tone and discourse has on both the elected and society.

“Right now, we are all carrying a lot of anxiety, and maybe a lot of that goes unnoticed.”

“I think we’re missing that, and in missing that, we miss compassion for one another, and in missing compassion for another, we create a discourse that is very unhealthy,” said Holland.

“There’s a lot of good people doing their best and they are trying to soak up the anxieties of their communities. They are attempting to make their community and their country a better place.”

He said most elected officials are looking into the void of the unknown and taking a shot at where we need to go collectively for our future.

“There’s a lot of courage in that. When we talk to each other in such harsh and uncompassionate tones, it makes people not believe in the sincerity of what people in the political field are trying to do, then that leads to the general population losing compassion for us and to think we’re just in it for ourselves.”

Holland thinks there needs to be an overhaul in how we approach politics, and I agree.

He suggests if our objective is to really hear one another, and one another’s anxieties and ideas on how we can get through the complex world we live in, we have to talk to each other in a more human way.

To me this means pausing in moments of frustration and anger to think about how thoughts and ideas can be shared respectfully. It means trusting those you have elected do have good intentions. It means recognizing their humanity and allowing some grace. No one is perfect and no one has all of the answers. Remembering this and demonstrating compassion will go a long way in shifting the discourse from negative to positive.

Let this be an inaugural day for the return of respectful discourse, compassion and community. We have a lot of work ahead of us to heal and thrive. Each of us has a role to play in leading by example, setting the tone and building our future.

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Sadie Hunter is a former Kamloops councillor. She is honoured to be sharing her thoughts from Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc (TteS) territory, situated within the unceded ancestral lands of the Secwépemc Nation, where we live, work and play.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.