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By James Peters

Two and Out

PETERS: Paying attention is half the battle

Jan 17, 2025 | 12:30 PM

IT WAS WOODY ALLEN who said, “Just showing up is half the battle.”

When it comes to the public’s access to local democracy, simply paying attention is half the battle.

In B.C. Supreme Court this week is a lawsuit disputing the alternative approval process (AAP) that resulted in public assent to borrow millions of dollars for the first phase of Build Kamloops, which includes a performing arts centre and an arena multiplex.

The plaintiff is arguing not enough effort was taken to inform the public about the counter petition, which relies on collecting signatures of only those who oppose the borrowing, not a yes-or-no vote like a referendum.

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Certainly, there are bound to be thousands of people in Kamloops who didn’t know about the AAP.

Those same people may not know about Build Kamloops at all. They might not know what their tax rate is. They might not even know it’s garbage day until they see their neighbours’ bins standing at curbside.

The fact is, some folks just don’t pay attention to their own community.

And that’s okay. There will always be a segment of the population who would rather watch American news, world news, documentaries, reality TV, game shows or TikTok videos.

There’s another segment of the population who would rather bury their heads in the sand because they find the world around them scary or depressing or just too much.

The ones who pay attention get to participate in our democracy on an ongoing basis — not just on voting day.

The alternative approval process that played out last fall was publicized by the City of Kamloops online. It was covered extensively in local media. It was discussed at length on social media pages and forums. It was water cooler and coffee shop talk for weeks and months.

Those who pay attention would have known about it. There’s no question.

Those who do not will have to go along with the decisions made by those who do. That’s the way representative democracy works.

We are all fortunate in Canada. We’re free to go about our lives, pursuing the interests we want to pursue. And we’re free to complain when we don’t like the decisions our leaders make.

But what we can’t do is force those decisions to be reversed when we weren’t even paying attention in the first place.

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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.