It鈥檚 destructive to the democratic process that people were forced to undergo a search before attending the Sidney LNG town hall on Tuesday. We have had such meetings for decades without such heavy-handed invasions of privacy.
The public information meeting on the Steelhead LNG proposal attracted about 600 people to the Mary Winspear Centre, where people were screened by security for pocket knives, multi-tools and other 鈥渨eapons.鈥�
Yes, the Steelhead project creates strong feelings, and perhaps intemperate comments occasionally are heard. But the reality is that citizens come together and discuss the issues; and the decision to search indicates an us-versus-them attitude.
North Saanich Mayor Alice Finall says it was a precaution taken by the district in consultation with Winspear security and the RCMP. She said it鈥檚 normal procedure for the Winspear Centre to implement security measures at large events, and the district made the decision to adhere to that practice.
鈥淲e recognize that while the security measures and presence may have raised concerns for some attendees, the decision to obtain this service was made with the well-being of the public as the foremost consideration,鈥� said Finall in a statement released by the district Friday.
Steelhead LNG, in co-operation with the Malahat First Nation, proposes to develop an LNG plant on the former Bamberton concrete-plant site. Natural gas would be piped from the mainland and liquefied for export. It is, without question, an attractive economic opportunity for the Malahat Nation, which has little in the way of employment and career prospects for its members.
But the proposal has aroused widespread opposition. The prospect of floating LNG facilities on Saanich Inlet is horrifying to other First Nations and residents of the Saanich Peninsula. People came to Tuesday鈥檚 meeting to have their say, and some were upset at the security presence.
And with good reason. An emotional crowd? Yes. Yelling and jeering? Quite likely. But weapons and violence? On 91原创 Island? That鈥檚 not how we do things here.
North Saanich officials were not trying to quell dissent, but were merely being cautious. But this wasn鈥檛 a rock concert, where it is accepted that fans are searched for weapons and booze. It was a public meeting where people should feel free to express their opinions, even loudly and angrily.
The openness of a democratic process brings with it certain risks, but in this case, those risks were extremely small. The slim likelihood of violence did not justify searching for weapons. This is a case of excessive caution blooming into paranoia.
