vaneramos | Another kind of political animal

I can hardly believe what I just did: signed onto a steering committee. I'm not a particularly political creature. I have clear opinions about a lot of things, but seldom engage in the process. I have signed a few petitions. I have attended one or two public meetings about local issues. However, since my days as a cub reporter I have never written or phoned any of my representatives at any level of government about anything.

Tonight I signed onto a steering committee.

The city is poised to change its Official Plan to remove certain protections on its river systems. At a council meeting earlier this month, the only public meeting to address these changes, the planning department presented the new plan without comparison to the existing plan. The public cannot see what has changed. City councillors cannot see what has changed. One councillor who attended tonight's meeting does not know what is happening, or how. The fear is that City Council will vote the plan into action later this spring because they don't understand the implications.

Guelph has an unusually good history of public involvement in planning and policy. It moved years ahead of most North American cities in adopting better environmental policies. Somehow we stand to lose all of that.

The river parklands are essential to the city's character. I named this journal Eramosa River Journal after one of the rivers. I named my nature blog, Speed River Journal, after the larger of the two. Now our house backs onto Hanlon Creek Conservation Area. These rivers and wetlands are all part of a linked open-space system. They belong to the people who live here.

Political action scares me to pieces. So do people I don't know (I knew a few of the people in the room tonight, but none of them knew me). Responsibility, leadership and committees all scare me to death. For most of my life I've hidden like a rabbit in a hole.

For longer than most of the people reading this will remember, Guelph's river lands have provided essential inspiration to me as a writer, as a person. The current phase of my life seems to be all about following my nose, engaging with my concerns and passions, pursuing things I care about even if it leads me into frightening territory. Don't mess with my rivers.

Tonight I joined a steering committee. I stand to benefit personally, not only because I love these green spaces, but also because stepping out carries me to where I need to be. It carries me across other paths. Rabbits do not make good journalists.

If you want to follow more of the story from a political standpoint, I will provide updates in Speed River Journal. It is also syndicated here: