October 2024
Andrew Fall
Regional Director
REGIONAL DIRECTOR NEWS
qRD Board on the Road
The August Board meetings were held in Gillies Bay, Texada Island. Each year, the qRD Board visits a different area to allow locals an opportunity to directly observe or delegate to the Board.
On the Benefits of Civil Discourse
Incivility in a community is a barrier to solutions because it erodes trust and can divide. It can prevent unified action to address external and internal issues. And it can be unpleasant for people on the receiving end.
Do local elected representatives have to accept uncivil, defamatory claims towards them as part of the territory? Simply put: they do not. In a healthy democracy, residents have a right to criticize elected representatives for their votes and words, for what they choose to champion or not. Elected representatives must accept that their positions and actions are open to criticism. It’s not always easy or comfortable, but representation requires listening to all perspectives. It’s part of the job.
But local elected representatives do not have to accept uncivil claims towards them. Local government representatives are not covered by WorkSafeBC protection or workplace policies. So they have to decide: ignore or stand up for themselves. Ignoring is the best approach in most cases, but not for repeated, escalating incidents. Standing up incurs some risk – responses may encourage further incidents. However, ignoring also incurs some risk – false claims may spread through a community, incivility may become normalized, and community members may choose to not run in future local elections.
Incivility can proliferate in a community. According to Diane Kalen-Sukra, author of “Save Your City: How Toxic Culture Kills Community & What to do About It”, “Incivility anywhere is a threat to civility everywhere”…“Community resilience is incompatible with toxic incivility”. That is, ignoring it is not a solution, but our responses must be civil.
Civil discourse is a prerequisite to address the many issues facing us locally and beyond. To increase our resilience and relative independence, we need to rely on each other. Reliance requires trust. Trust requires that we can talk and listen. And people only listen when talked to respectfully.
Civil discourse is a foundation that can foster vigorous, impassioned disagreement without disrespect. It can be soft on people – our neighbours – so we can look each other in the eyes and open our ears to each other’s words.
Please feel free to contact me. I am honoured to be your regional representative. - Director Andrew Fall, qathet Regional District. 250-333-8595