December 2017: Peterborough's Motto, Its Citizens and Council: A Disconnect?

If you've ever been inside Peterborough's Council Chambers, your eye may be drawn to the city's Coat of Arms, hanging above elected officials' tables for 67 years. Peterborough's Latin motto, “Dat Natura, Elaborant Artes”, roughly translates into "nature gives bountifully, and the arts and crafts and energy of the people develop and elaborate on nature’s gift." 

As a downtown newcomer to the city, I have the sense of a disconnect in how this motto is being interpreted by its people and its leadership.

Peterborough's People

Since our arrival 18 months ago, we have attended so many community-led events on foot that it's been dizzying. The people, businesses and citizen groups working hard to create a supportive, inclusive, local, green and entrepreneurial community bring a youthful and contemporary edge to the city. We have frequented both beaches, revelled in the bike culture here. The music and arts events! My husband runs through the Jackson Park trails, inspired that such a community asset is so close at hand. The creative effort by the Downtown Business Improvement Association is helping bring an invigoration to the city's core. We've been taught about First Nations presence here and having recently discovered Harper Park (a diamond in the rough!), the research and mapping with both Jackson and Harper Creeks is inspirational. The Canoe Museum, another asset poised to become Peterborough's next world-class attraction, reflects the outdoor history of here and of Canada.

As a newcomer, I can feel the reinvention taking place throughout all sectors, growing, ready to break through the surface. This vibe is something I hope the people of Peterborough are proud of - it is tangible - and lives up to the city's motto of "Dat Natura, Elaborant Artes".

Peterborough's Council

Approval of massive development projects are dominating Council decisions in these months leading up to the 2018 election. Since our arrival: a casino at the welcome gates, close to 1,000 acres of housing development at Lilly Lake and the Liftlock, a $50 million twin-pad arena next to a wildlife sanctuary / wetland / outdoor education centre, the Parkway again, the Charlotte St. renewal project, and now a study regarding an $80 million Memorial Centre rebuild. 

Peterborough City Hall

©CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT

PETERBOROUGH EXAMINER

QMI AGENCY

Within these big-ticket decisions, some process questions arise, particularly around what seems to be not only a disconnect from Peterborough's motto, "Dat Natura, Elaborant Artes", but also a disconnect with the thousands of citizens who are working hard to define Peterborough as a place different from all the other cities within the Golden Horseshoe.

I've attended 2 Council meetings and streamed 4, and I am struck by the longevity of service of many Council members, something they are to be congratulated for. The Mayor has been voting on behalf of citizens for 16 years, and by the time of the next election, it seems that 4 out of 11 members of Council will be approaching, if not already celebrating, their 70th birthday. There are only 2 women out of 11 elected officials, and no person who is not-white. One Council member doesn't live in Peterborough. There are 2 Council members who are affiliated with the real estate / retail development sector.

2017 Expertise & Viewpoints

Decisions made with respect for the environment are sadly lacking with this Council, and if there are Council members with this view, they are definitely a minority, silenced through vote-on-motions results.  To be fair, Council relies on expertise from city staff, and nowhere on the City staff organization chart can I find someone who is in a position to provide Council with advice on environmental impacts, someone who can educate, represent and promote a greener approach to developmental decision-making.

View from Trent Sanctuary hike

A perfect example of this is the assessments done by the consulting firm D.M. Wills Associates Limited regarding the twin-pad arena on Trent lands. Despite there being a wetland, a wildlife sanctuary, long-term research projects and an outdoor education center, on page 16 of their Phase 1 report, item 4.3.4 "Water Bodies and Areas of Natural Significance Available mapping was reviewed, and no Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) were identified within the Phase One Study Area."  

If hired consultants don't place any value on the remaining wild areas within Peterborough, if assessment specifications don't guide them to do so, if there is a lack of expertise amongst city staff advisors, and leaders don't seem to have an environmental lens, Council is free to behave within the status quo and continue with the thinking of decades gone by.

With the latest Parkway debacle, for a Council to actively pursue a disregard for provincial orders or laws for environmental impact assessments is, quite, unbelievable. To disregard natural habitat repeatedly, as evidenced in the Casino and twin-pad arena sites, is backward-thinking and represents a pattern of action that does not reflect current trends in urban planning or laws enacted by the Provincial or Federal governments. Nor is this attitude in keeping with 2017 or Peterborough's motto  "Dat Natura, Elaborant Artes".

A River Runs Through It

A bike ride  / swim day at Little Lake

During the heat and drought of our first summer here, the summer of 2016, we were thankful to have a river running through our city ending in Little Lake, an asset that helped us choose to live here. How exciting to be able to bike to these shores for a swim, and how disappointing to find that there are no river access points and that few locals swim in Little Lake waters due to half a century of contamination. According to SwimGuide, a water quality tracker developed by Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, during the summer of 2017, our local waters were swimmable only 64% of the time. Yet a City project was completed in 2017, amidst much pride and fanfare, making Little Lake beaches wheelchair accessible. A disconnect.

Moving Forward

I am encouraged by the expertise and citizen groups in our midst, including Trent University and Fleming College. There is a palpable interest amongst the public in becoming a more environmentally responsible community, as evidenced by the many groups and businesses working towards this goal. The youthful demographic Council is approving housing development for also has environmental respect at the top of their agendas. The recent launch of a local high school credit program, Youth Leadership in Sustainability, will help educate our next generation of leaders. 

As we approach the spring of 2018, when current members of Council announce their intent to seek re-election, Peterborough will examine its commitment to its motto, its commitment to the land upon which we live, its commitment to the status quo. I have hope that these issues may become election issues, that more forward-thinking citizens will step up and run for office. This does not represent change. Its the Peterborough that has been here all along, "Dat Natura, Elaborant Artes".

Sheila Strickland

December, 2017