The RM of Keys holds an annual ratepayers' meeting, which provides the opportunity to review our financial position, council activities and to hear about upcoming initiatives.聽 The concluding open forum is designed for open, honest and respectful dialogue between council and ratepayers on any relevant issue.
That's what happens most years. That's not what happened on April 16.
The open forum was monopolized by strong, often vitriolic opposition, to the proposed change to council's bylaw allowing communal dwelling, which would allow the Hutterite Brethren Church of Crystal Lake (HBC) to establish a colony in Division 6 of the RM.聽
The HBC has also made application for the establishment of an Intensive Livestock Operation (ILO) which would accommodate up to 20 animal units of dairy cattle, up to 80 animal units of ducks and geese, up to 1320 animal units of chickens and 540 animal units of turkeys.
Let me be clear. We are all entitled to our opinions. Mine are in support of our Hutterite neighbors.
What we are not entitled to is presenting opinions in the form of anger, fear, insult and discrimination. And that's what I heard on April 16, with precious little appetite for learning, or listening to the facts of the matter.
Instead, the ethics of our council were questioned. Instead, the supporting evidence of the HBC proposal was condemned as self-serving and irrelevant. Instead, there was near hysteria in questioning the RM of Keys as an unsafe and unfit place to live.
Can there be improvements in communication among ratepayers, hamlets and the RM?聽 Always.聽 Is what occurred on April 16 a constructive way to create understanding and relationships?聽 Never.
One speaker stood out to me for the thoughtful presentation of his concern and that was the Mayor of Stenen, who was genuinely interested in the effect that an ILO might have on the Stenen aquifer. Fair ball. This question and many others will be answered by officials from SaskWater, Saskatchewan Agriculture and other government agencies at a public forum, tentatively scheduled for May 3. It's my sincere hope that greater learning and understanding can be reached with more education.
While I'm angry and disappointed by what I witnessed, I remain confident that the interests of diversified agriculture, the backbone of our municipality, will be balanced with those of leisure and recreation; that our view of environmentalism is not selective to our own interests, but is inclusive of all facets of our ecosystems.
There is space on God's green earth, and particularly in the RM of Keys, for us all.聽 I remain hopeful that we can work together to make it so.
