Comment 34410

By Undustrial (registered) - website
Posted October 03, 2009 at 20:04:38

I used to be a fairly ardent supporter of the idea of seeing a GCL-type organization set up here, but after seeing how the city of Guelph, supported by the GCL, handled the issue of the Hanlon Creek Business Park I got pretty disenchanted. Despite all the wonderful work they've done in terms of "smart growth" and "sustainability", the city is still insistant on suing dirt-poor protesters for fantastic sums of money and accusing them of outlandish crimes ("extortion") for daring to peacefully obstruct development on environmentally sensitive lands on the very edge of town (land in fact large annexed from Puslinch). Sounds a lot like the Red Hill Valley or Aerotropolis to me.

I support an idea like this in principle, but I reserve judgement until I see them in action. It could be a tremendously beneficial for local democracy, but it could also devote a whole lot of effort to relatively inefficient lobbying and politicking initiatives when what really needs doing is direct action in the communities. Hamilton does, definitely, need to be be able to more effectively muscle our municiple government, but if we're just adding another veil of democratic legitimacy to the same old development-driven policies, then what's the point?

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"Today, the notion of progress in a single line without goal or limit seems perhaps the most parochial notion of a very parochial century." — Lewis Mumford

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