Divide and Conquer

(By Elvis Glazier)
There is an old axiom when it comes to waging war. "Divide and Conquer". The Century Group and the proponents of Southlands under the leadership of Sean Hodgins has been very adept at using this method to push their point forward. By repeating the name Tsawwassen over and over again in their propaganda they have set out on a campaign to keep the rest of Delta out of the discussion. It's quite brilliant because in actual fact it's Ladner and North Delta that have the most to lose by this development. Financially this development is a good deal for Tsawwassenites who with their lower tax base won't have to bare nearly as much cost for the infrastructure that this development would require. I mean as a percentage our municipal taxes will rise roughly the same, but it is the larger areas that will end up paying the bulk of the additional costs. Sean Hodgins and his development team have decried that development is inevitable. Don't believe it. There are only two things that are inevitable, death and taxes. If we condemn the Southlands to death, rest assured taxes will go up rapidly. I have yet to see this kind of mass development lower taxes.

If I were a resident of North Delta or Ladner I would be furious to find out that once again Tsawwassen is being put on a pedestal and being given favoritism over the rest of the city. There's another old warfare axiom that says, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". If I were excluded from the planning committees that had such an impact on my life I would be incensed. If I were living in the other areas of Delta I would be calling up city council and the mayor and letting them know that I won't stand for taxation without representation. If council intends for the Southlands to be developed why not allow the entire municipality be part of the process? This exclusionary approach is only a tactic used to keep the people divided and thus conquer us with greater ease. The Southlands' development plan is not a 'Tsawwassen only' issue. It is probably one of the most critical decisions that 'we' as a 'community' will have to address. In writing this letter I hope that my neighbours in the entire community of Delta will put some thought into how this will effect us and not allow our council to be pawns of the developers and speculators in their battle to divide and conquer us. I can understand why the Century Group would want to keep us apart but We deserve more respect from our elected officials. It's time to include the entire city on decisions.