Editor:
I am a white, cis-gender (she/her), privileged community member. I am grappling with the grief, shame, honour, and gratitude I have for the work of my ancestors to bring me the life I live today. As Summer Starr aptly expresses, “I feel this gratitude with the very raw and intertwined knowing that the privilege of my life today came at the cost of so many other human and non-human beings.”
Erroneously, I’ve ignored my own entitlement to potable water and treated it as an infinite renewable resource. As a privileged home-owner, the yearly $600 water bill feels minimal for the pure, precious return. This mindset is bigger than water. I’ve consumed more than I’ve given back. This entitlement to consumption is an ego-driven sickness, one difficult to shed. The fact that for decades I’ve uncritically gifted Telus over $50,000, to ensure rapid and easy “connection” to the world, troubles me, especially, when upon reflection, the return has not been that meaningful for my soul. Gardening, however, is. How many of us, I wonder, would prefer rapid and easy access to water, but have neglected to consider its true cost? I am changing my relationship with water consumption.
The recent backlash in the Coast Reporter has me further dismayed. I highly doubt that only incompetent people have been employed by, or led the board of, the SCRD. Perhaps some grace could be given to the fact that the water problem is more complex and challenging to resolve than turning on and off a tap. Furthermore, it’s too easy to blame the SCRD for this multi-faceted issue. Governments reflect their constituents. Collectively, we are responsible. Thankfully, many organizations and individuals are not playing victim to the problems of our creation and are instead empowering us through adaptations and solutions. Gratitude.
Jen MacInnes, Elphinstone
