A message to most of you...
Hello friends and neighbours,
I'd like to warn you all of the mercenaries who align themselves with those who are here to exploit our communities. We must remain focused on our task at hand. I was asked during the rally this weekend: "what's the solution to all this?" And there is one thing I am certain of. We are tired of lobbyists controlling our government and dictating our future. We are those who live here and we are those who will be here long after you've moved on. It’s time we found our voices and stopped letting others tell us what’s good for us — how we should feel — and push us aside to make way for their grand visions of the future.
We’ve had enough.
It’s time to try something new. Something many of us haven’t seen in too damn long: a government that actually has the interests of its people at heart.
The age of threats and name-calling is over.
We’ve watched for years while these whales consumed our futures — and our children’s futures — with promises of a better tomorrow. I won’t be conned. I won't be swayed by meaningless gestures or an extra multipurpose room. I won’t negotiate when it comes to how much more we’re expected to sacrifice for a promised utopia that drifts further away with each passing day.
No more pretending.
A fire burns stronger every day as more of us start to look around and decide: we are ready to give ourselves to making things better. Hope comes from watching those around you do what you always dreamed of doing. And much like our ancestors, that dream has always been to build a family, a home, a community.
And that’s exactly what we’ve started doing.
In these colder months, stand tall against the rain and wind. Defy our old habits. Warm yourself with the flame inside you.
The George Massey Tunnel was built 66 years ago. Thirteen years ago, the BC government said it needed replacing. And for 13 years, not just Deltans — but people across the west coast, from Northern BC to the American border and beyond — have suffered in that tunnel. Sitting in traffic instead of being with their loved ones.
But yeah — tell me how we need to build for even more people before you’ll even consider our problems.
Better yet — for those still clinging to the magical carrot that’s been dangled in front of us for generations:
Go on Google Maps. Use the street view time slider. Roll it back. Drive through Ladner. North Delta. Tsawwassen. Or maybe try Richmond. White Rock. Even Vancouver.
You’ll be amazed at how much has changed. So many condos. So many new homes. So much development. It’s hard to believe you’re even in the same city.
And if you’re ever unsure of where you are?
Head to the nearest hospital. Or a public school. Or a library. Or the tunnel
Because those never change.
Are we seriously going to pretend that our population hasn’t already exploded over the last 30 years? Even the last 10? Canada’s population has grown nearly double the rate of other G7 countries in the last decade and a large amount of those people have moved to BC — yet for 30 years, all we hear is the sound of the can getting kicked farther and farther down the road.
And we’re supposed to believe that “more condos” will fix our failing health care system, our broken education system, the rise in crime, our mental health crisis, declining birth rates, and falling life expectancy? (to just name a few)
Your solution is to hand the keys back to the very people and industries that put us here?
Nah. It’s time for a change.
Get with it.
We will empower small businesses and individuals to do what lobbyists and their shills haven’t done in decades. That starts here. In the grassroots. It starts with advocacy groups. With journalism. With voting. With dedicated individuals who write letters and give us the strength to grab the wheel and change our course.
So keep writing those letters.
Keep printing them out and handing them to those around you.
We will not be tricked. We will not be silenced.
Thank you for your attention this evening.
I hope you are all doing well — and staying safe.
Alex