Democratically elected councillors such as those in Red Deer County are expected to be impartial.
In a democracy, that means they are not swayed by financial connections or by personal or employment relationships, allowing them to make decisions in the interests of all citizens, not just the rich and influential.
Terry Anne Hogg-Pidskalny’s letter of Sept. 22 presses the novel view that impartiality means councillors should take no position about pillaging resources, pollution, noise, traffic and so forth arising from gravel quarrying.
Her letter states there is nothing wrong with expanding from small to large projects in a so-called “free enterprise society,” apparently even if it negatively affects others.
Elected councillors are expected to tell us their positions on development, pollution, safety, sharing and other issues of the public interest. They are expected to vote knowledgeably, based on science, policy and law.
They are not expected to be passive and silent.
Impartiality does not mean neutrality.
Councillors have the job of deciding based on evidence and not being swayed by unfair considerations.
Nor should they lay back and let the rapacious among us pursue “free enterprise” without regulation.
“The law cannot change the heart . . . but it can restrain the heartless.” — Martin Luther King.
Ken Collier
Red Deer