Tri-City residents may not notice it but their world is changing beyond comprehension. Here are some issues to watch out for.
Globalization and our place in it continues to have an impact on our day-to-day lives. Now we can buy just as easily from China through Amazon.ca as we can from our local department store, with impacts on jobs, (the closure of Sears comes to mind), taxation and other issues.
International education, which is boosting the local economy and School District 43 coffers continues to attract students to K-12 schools, colleges and university campuses. This trend is expected to draw international attention to our corner of the world and, possibly, more residents, who will want to buy or rent homes here. What impact this will have on rental accommodation and real estate is not entirely known but we are seeing changes already with nearly 25% of newly-built Coquitlam condos foreign-owned.
Marijuana will soon be legal and we won’t know for years what the impact will be on the habits of local residents, especially youth. As pot becomes more acceptable will it replace booze as the drug of choice? Will more young adults experiment and will it make more people curious about stronger drugs? These questions will need further study.
Our provincial voting system may change if a referendum on proportional representation takes place this fall as expected. If it passes, this could have major impact on how we vote, who we vote for and what the outcome will be, including the possibility of more coalition governments.
How we pay for transportation will likely change when studies are completed on mobility pricing, the suite of fees and charges for everyday transportation services. At the same time a fare review of the transit zone system is under scrutiny with potential changes coming. How we commute to work could start to change in 2018, depending on the outcome of these reviews.
Other issues to watch out for, the opioid crisis, homelessness, efforts to deal with mental health concerns, including more anxiety among youth, and rebuilding Riverview. All these issues and more are bearing down on us.
The best advice would be to stay involved in local decision-making, otherwise you only have yourself to blame if things go awry.
