Sunday, 1 March 2015

Breslau Post Meeting Synopsis - Trust Issues


We had a public Information Session to discuss the new school proposal by the WCDSB and the Township of Woolwich.  The meeting was on Thursday, Feb 26 and I have been pouring over everything that happened and all the information that was presented trying to come up with a coherent response.  From my perspectives there were two main response themes: Student Safety and Financial Details / Discrepancies.  I would say there was 200-250 people at the meeting and from my count 2 individuals came forward to say they supported this plan.
“There are people in the community that would like the school there, unfortunately we didn't hear from as many of those yesterday” says Manuel da Silva, WCDSB Chair. “We heard from many people who were opposed to the school.”
I am not entirely sure where Mr. da Silva was expecting the support to come from.  Information that was presented to us stated that 125 students are enrolled in St. Boniface currently.  Not to be to stereotypical here but I think that those would be multiple student families so 60 or so families.  Next I would say not all of them are excited about leaving Maryhill so they wouldn't be excited about supporting this proposal.  So lets be generous and say that 40 of those families are in Breslau and are excited about moving the school to this location and they all showed up and voiced their support at the meeting.  They would have been overwhelmed by the dozens of speakers against.  I suppose that some Breslau residents would have looked at the upside of the library and the park upgrades and felt that this is something we should consider as one brave speaker pointed out.  The challenge with that second category of support will be addressed below as the financial aspects of this project and what is being proposed for upgrades has a few glaring problems.

Student Safety

I would like to discuss the concerns of student safety that some of the speakers raised.  We know and were assured by the WCDSB that the lock down policy would be in effect during the school day.  The gymnasium would not be affected by this lock down but the connection between the school and gym would be.  Residents were informed that extra supervision could be used to ensure student safety in the shared gym space while occupied by students.  The school board cited the example of St. Daniel Catholic Elementary School and the Stanley Park Community Centre as an example of this partnership.

Increased traffic was also sighted as a safety concern and it was rebutted by the envious and significantly large parking lot that the school would have access to.  As stated by the board, no school in our region has access to such a parking lot.  The traffic issue was where the irony of moving from Maryhill to Breslau was brought up.  The board stated that approximately 58/125 where bussed into Maryhill so wouldn't the ratio be similar if you bussed all the Maryhill kids to Breslau?  This was countered by the idea that Breslau was expanding and thus more students would be living in the area, which was countered by a new subdivision was just approved in Maryhill.  It just became a very cyclical argument that had less to do with facts then it appeared.

The next major safety issue was the idea of fencing.  The board assured that the kindergarten children would have a small fenced play area as is normal for our region.  However, since something magical happens between SK and Grade 1 the main school property would not be fenced and would instead rely on teacher supervision to ensure that students stayed on school property during outdoor recreation periods.  This lead to a discussion about the current play structure in the park and who would get priority use of it.  This point became increasingly unclear as it was said that if no one was using it then the school could have access.  Which really makes absolutely no sense, if a community kid came by then all the school kids would have to leave and go back to school property?  This led to all kids of questions about what recreation facilities (climbing structures) would be within school property and what would potential students have access to?  This wasn't clarified very well for me and I "zoned out for a second".  A point was made that the soccer field would be upgraded with money from the sale of the parkland.  This didn't immediately sit well with residents because it appeared that the school board was buying a part of the park and the proceeds went to upgrade a soccer field that it could use without paying for it (not a good start when talking about potential upgrades, more on that to come).

Financial Details / Discrepancies

The main thrust of opposition was fixed upon financial claims and it was the point that I also spoke on.  Although, I will have to admit I didn't do very well at keeping my own emotions in check and I got a bit carried away and I would like to get a second chance at that one but I digress.  Many of the residents challenged the Townships ultimatum that if we want any of the proposed upgrades to happen, including the library, we had to accept this proposal from the school board.  The proceeds from the sale were set at 1.75 million and without this money there would be no room in capital budgets for anything in the park.  If we did not go ahead with this project it would take 20 years to make up the capital. Speaker after speaker came to the microphone in the centre of the room and directly challenged this statement.

Residents were told that Elmira was getting upgrades because they had community involvement and community fundraising.  Which I have two arguments that I would like to raise on that issue:
  1. Despite the capital fundraising by residents the township is still voluntarily taking on thousands of dollars per year in maintenance of these projects.  This money comes from residents taxes and it appears as favouritism to Elmira.
  2. The Lions club has been working and fighting for a splash pad far before the this project was on the books.  I have recently learned that the township told them to hold off on initiating fundraising at this time?  Is that because they don't want to take on a maintenance budget for a Breslau project? Since no one wants to answer we can only assume, and people on the project don't want to say anything because they "still need to work with the township".  What that sounds like to me is a highschool bully situation but since I am not involved I can only just whisper these things to myself.
One courageous resident come to the microphone and demanded to know how the park that currently has a maintenance building, pavilion, tuck shop, single washroom, tennis courts, etc. was ever allowed to deteriorate to the point that 1.75 million is needed just to put it back together.  I guess Abraham Lincoln has a lesson the township needed to learn:
You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
Residents pushed the township to explain what was done with the development fees charged to Empire Homes and Thomasfield, where does all the money go from building permits, and most importantly where does 24% from the annual property tax go that over 1000 homes pay in Breslau every year?  For the homes in old Breslau they have their own private septic systems, and for the new homes are all on brand new water and sewer.  Where does the money the township makes in Breslau go?  The township responded to these concerns to say that money goes into the capital budgets and it is distributed across the township to ensure places that don't have high development also get upgrades.  I fully support this and I am ok with my taxes supporting the township and it didn't come to Breslau this time (or anytime in the past 10 years).  However, as a speaker asked, "How the heck do we make Breslau a Priority?" One gentleman had an estimate of 1.5 million collected in development fees in the last 6 or so years.  I didn't fully understand these details but his point was there was money there just not allocated to Breslau.  Once the legal mess is sorted, Empire and Thomasfiled will go back to building houses and paying fees.  We won't need to wait 20 years we just need to wait until somebody in the township cares enough to make Breslau a priority.  This is where I have to impart my parental wisdom to the township by quoting something that I often tell my own children:

I make predictions on your future behaviour by what you have done in the past.  This is how I know that you aren't going to clean up that mess and it is too close to bed time to play with lego.
Me 
Ok, so maybe the lego part wasn't needed here but I think you get what I am saying.  The park has pieces that can't be used because of their disrepair.  How are we to believe that once you sell a capital asset of green space to get the coveted 1.75 that you will be able to maintain it?  What are you going to sell off in 10 years to fix the park again, you have nothing much left to sell?  It comes down to trust and the residents of Breslau do not trust the township offices in Elmira (in case you weren't aware).

To further illustrate this point on trust, whenever the documents and staff talk about what the school board will get it is stated clearly.  When you flip the coin and ask what residents getting we hear a long list of potential upgrades that will take further consultation to prioritise.  Upgrades that haven't even been properly costed out, meaning that maybe none of them are actually possible once we connect the community centre and new comfort station to the municipal services.  A clear example of lying to the residents with their fingers crossed behind their back.  Well, we said potential and you could get these things.  I would rather block this project full stop then find out what goodies I will get at the end of the rainbow.

Initially I was opposed to the project because of my view out my back window and losing the premium that I paid for the privilege.  Now I oppose the project even more because the township has given me no reason to support it.  They hold the list of upgrades above my head saying you could have these if you behave and move a side.  This is the way you influence a toddler not fully engaged citizens (this is where I should mention the horrid picture of the park that was used by the township in their presentation but it would take too long to explain).  The township could refund me twice my park premium and I would return it to them since they clearly need the money.  This is no longer about that.  It is about trust and mutual relationship that we don't have.  If we had open communication and mutual trust with the township Breslau residents would be standing up and asking, "What can we do?"

  • Should we lobby business for donations?
  • Should we demand better municipal support from our Provincial and Federal Members of Parliament
  • Should we organize fundraising committees?
  • Should we investigate infrastructure grants?
Instead we get accept what we tell you or you get nothing.  I think we need to change this conversation.  Tell me where we should go and I will work on the support!


In the media


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Wednesday, 18 February 2015

Traffic and Safety Concerns - New School


If you are new to this discussion I wrote an open letter expressing my concerns about the location of the proposed new catholic school in Breslau.  I followed that up with a call to action and a petition that has now exceeded 200 signatures. I gathered all the information for this project that I could find and posted it so we all could find it easier and be prepared to ask intelligent questions at the public meeting on February 26 @ 7:00pm at the Community Centre. My last post raised questions about financing and the actual costs of upgrading Breslau Memorial Park.  That brings us to this past week and it has been a busy one with a few media outlets getting interested.
This experience has taught me that it isn't easy to clearly express your message when you are talking to someone who is very new to the discussion.  Especially if that someone is going to publish your comments in a permanent publication or broadcast your voice on the radio.  I tried to express my concerns clearly, hopefully others find it coherent.

Traffic & Safety

As any Breslau resident knows, between 8:20 and 8:40 this place gets a really busy especially around Joseph, Dolman and Shields streets.  Many schools in Waterloo Region have the same problem when it comes to parents dropping children off at school.  Historically this was not a problem as students would walk themselves to school or take a bus.  However, with changing demographics and societal norms children no longer walk themselves to school.  Since parents need to get to work as soon as possible, parent drop off on the way to work is becoming much more prevalent.  I have to admit that I too am guilty of this and I am part of the problem.  Recently, I have tried to drop off in more convenient locations but schools just aren't prepared for this.  This is not unique to Breslau Public School, I have had conversations with parents across Waterloo Region and they all have similar stories.  When the township proposed this new school deep in the Riverland subdivision my thoughts, as well as others, went quickly to this problem.  I hope at minimum the bell times for the new school, wherever it is located, are offset from the current school. It would be ideal if this new school had a more direct connection to the main street but I am not sure of the feasibility of that.  
How do you plan to accommodate more traffic coming into Breslau and does this school have a plan to deal with parents driving up and dropping off children?
I hope that the planners who are proposing this new school have a plan on how to deal with the very prevalent parent drop off routine.

Shared Spaces & Safety

The proposal includes allowing the school to connect to the community centre gymnasium.  I can see this as a very clear win for the school as the gymnasium is a very large facility and can accommodate many different programs.  My concern is the idea that right now it is 100% community space, a central community space that Breslau has lacked for a long time.  Now we are being asked to give up part of it to share with the school.  
What is going to happen to community programs currently run out of the community centre and the gym during school hours?
I have heard from others that they are concerned with safety if these programs (school and community) can occur simultaneously.  Conversely, if community programs are cancelled during "school hours" I can't see that going over well.
Does the proposal include a fenced in school yard with a play structure for students to use during outdoor recreation time? If not immediately, how long before a fence will be built?
Again a double edged sword.  If the  school yard is fenced then all the properties that back on to this space are going to now back onto a fence and I know that many of them would have planned their backyards and their own property boundaries very differently if they knew this was the case.  Everyone who backs onto the park has built a gate in their backyard fence.  How will this play out if the gate can't open because of a new chain link fence? Conversely again, if no fence is present how does the school plan to keep children safe with a fully accessible public park and baseball diamond next door?

Community Meeting - February 26 - 7:00pm @ Breslau Community Gymnasium

I want to encourage everyone to come out to the public meeting planned for Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 7:00pm at the Breslau Community Gymnasium.  We recently received a page of information about the project for the meeting recently in our mail box.

I am very proud of where we live, I feel confident living in a vibrant growing community, and I am excited to tell people about the innovations of our region.  I am thankful for the opportunity to speak up and have community engagement, your community is only as good as you demand it to be.  We want it to be the best for us now and the best for our children who will inherit it from us.  Thank you for reading my ramblings and thank you for showing interest.
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Saturday, 7 February 2015

Breslau Memorial Park is More than Green Space


The proposed new school will affect more than some percentage of green space.  I, along with many others, have made the case that this building project will negatively affect the green space in Breslau and change the landscape that home owners expected when they purchased their homes.  However there is so much more to this story and we are just getting started.
In response, both the Township and the WCDSB have stepped up their information campaigns to try to reduce the perceived impact of this building project.  I guess that's what happens when you have over 140 signatures on a petition opposing the project.  The Township and the WCDSB are phrasing it as only a small percentage of the overall park  The problem with this argument is that this is free and open space, while other parts of the park have specific purposes (ie parking lots, baseball diamonds).  In the summer time the open park of Breslau Memorial park hosts approximately 120 children between 3 & 6 playing soccer.  You drop that school in there and there will not been enough space for that.  Below are a few recent tweets:




So I guess we touched a nerve on that one.  I think it is time to tackle a second major concern with this building plan and that concern is one of economics.

A Question of Ecomonics

The general response that I have been getting is that this land sale to WCDSB so that they can build a school on the park green space is because this is the only way to pay for all the "much needed" upgrades to Memorial park.  A summary of upgrades are as follows:
  • Move lower baseball diamond and replace lighting technology
  • Build a new comfort station (public bathroom)
  • Upgrades to the gymnasium (sound system, equipment)
  • Resurface the tennis courts, new lines and fencing.
  • Upgrades to a regulation size soccer field
  • Multi-use stone dust trail system.
  • A new storage building
  • Connect everything to municipal sewer and water
  • New Accessible playground (in conjunction with Parents Council)
  • Splash pad (in conjunction with Breslau Lions Club)
I know that they have promised more information at the meeting but I will be very interested in the following questions:
1. What is the total revenue expected from the sale of land to the WCDSB?
2. What type of income or financial arrangement has been made regarding the sharing of the library space and the gym space with the public? 
3. What is the expected cost for each of the proposed upgrades to the park?
4. When is the work on the upgrades proposed to begin? 
When you are in a disagreement with someone you always have to be willing to compromise and really listen to the other side.  If you are unwilling to compromise you will find that people will listen to you less and your opinion will no longer be heard.  So my challenge to myself is, "what would it take for me to support this project?"  The more I look at the plans and the more I hear from others this challenge becomes difficult.  However, if the Township and school board wanted to engage me they better have solid answers to the four questions above.  You can't expect me to support the permanent sale of a green space asset with a "promise" to spend at least some of the money here in Breslau.  I need to see that document that lays out the sale of the property and the rental/sharing agreements for collaborative spaces.  I need to see the total sale and how they plan on subtracting from it until it gets to 0 with every budget line corresponding to improvements and upgrades to my park.  That of course will just be a start.

Another key question:
Will there be any financial compensation to home owners who paid the park premium and for those who will need to change their backyard fence structure and gates because they now back onto school property?
There is way more to our concerns than just the loss of green space and we sincerely hope that when we show up on February 26 they have given some of this much more thought then it appears they have thus far.

The Library Carrot

You will notice that I neglected to include the proposed library on the list of upgrades that Breslau will get from this deal.  This is because I don't see the library as a part of this project.  I see the construction of a library being an absolute necessity in Breslau.  Wherever this school gets built in Breslau I fully expect / demand that a public library be a part of it.  If the school never gets built anywhere within Breslau then we need to start building our own fully accessible public library.  A library is the heart of a community, sharing events, details and literacy with the community.  If the planners and developers of this project begin to use the library as a carrot then you will see me get seriously upset.  A school partnership with the public library is an excellent model but it does not need to be build at the expense of Breslau Memorial park.

For my next post I want to talk about the actual school plans, safety, fences, and playground so if you have an opinion on that get in touch with me.



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Thursday, 5 February 2015

Breslau Catholic Elementary School Partnership


I posted a follow up and call to action  to my open letter regarding this project and the township responded by providing me links to more detailed information about the project.  There has been a great response to the petition urging the township to consider a different location, with many residents providing some great questions and concerns.  I have received the criticism that we are all jumping the gun and that we should wait for the public meeting on February 26.  While this may be true, we need to be proactive with how we think about this.  I have included as much information as I could in this post to help residents of Breslau and potential users of the new school understand the project and a bit of development planning for Breslau.

I believe in information and action.  If it turns out that I am way off base and the residents of Breslau believe this is a win for our community then I will welcome the new school. You never know, maybe a school building will block the Saturday night stag and doe party music that we get to enjoy. Personally, I believe that we have better options. I am concerned that allowing this project to go ahead unchecked will result in less community space with restricted access.  I want to ensure that we as a community have facilities that we can access throughout the day and that includes a public library and an indoor recreation space for seniors and parents with young children.  I am very energized by the passion for our community that this project has brought out.  Excellent and respectful debate makes us who we are and I never want to lose that.


Breslau Catholic Elementary School Partnership
Project Information – Township of Woolwich

This announcement signifies our willingness to explore the potential for
partnership with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board to provide
shared services for the community of Breslau.

 An integral part of moving forward with a project of this nature is to consult with the community in order to understand the perspectives and best interests of residents of Breslau. We will be holding an Information / Consultation meeting with the public on February 26th , 7:00 pm at the Community Centre in Breslau.


  • The Township of Woolwich recognizes this situation as a unique opportunity to establish a partnership that will enhance and improve public amenities for the residents of Breslau.
  • This partnership allows the Township to re-develop Breslau Park in a manner that would not otherwise be possible through the Township’s operational or capital budgets.
  • Funding gained through the disbursement of surplus park land will be reinvested back into making Breslau Park a more user and community friendly facility.
    • Relocate the lower baseball diamond to provide a buffer between the home run fence and neighbouring homes.
    • New comfort station with change rooms / concession / picnic area - to house mechanical requirements for the Splash Pad,
    • New Zero spillage LED Musco lighting on the lower diamond.
    • Resurface the tennis courts, new lines and fencing.
    • Upgrades to a regulation size Soccer field
    • Multi-use stone dust trail system.
    • Upgrades to the gymnasium to include – sound system, additional basketball nets, floor sockets for additional sport poles, wall padding, and additional storage room.
    • New equipment storage building.
    • Connect to Municipal Sewer and water.- New electrical service.
    • New Accessible playground (in conjunction with Parents Council)
    • Splash Pad (in conjunction with Breslau Lions Club)
    • The extensive growth that has occurred in Breslau over the past decade has established a need for an increase in both services and public facilities to the settlement.
  • New partnerships must be formed and innovative ventures must be considered that pool our resources to facilitate new public infrastructure, services and amenities in our region.
  • Catholic School Board approached Township informally in early 2013 after receiving funding from the Province to replace St Boniface School in Maryhill
    • 2 story school, no higher than the existing gym, with a footprint of 18,836 sq ft on the ground floor and 12,000 sq ft on the upper (room for expansion)
    • 250 student spaces (currently St. Boniface has 120 students)
    • 5000 sq ft shared public library
    • Outdoor classroom / sitting area
    • Outdoor basketball court.
    • WCDSB extended an official expression of interest to the Township in July 2014

New Catholic School Proposal
Thank you Breslau for engaging in respectful debate and dialog.  We are defined by how we treat those who disagree with us.  Let us all be defined well!


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Wednesday, 4 February 2015

Protect Green Space Call to Action

(photo credit Lindsay Murray)

It has been a week since I posted my open letter to the Township of Woolwich and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board regarding the building of a new Catholic school in Breslau.  It has been a pretty active week on this issue and I have had a chance to think a lot about it.  My letter has received almost 500 page views.  I am still not happy about it and have numerous concerns.  On the positive side, I have become aware of the passion that Breslau residents have for their town.  Below are just a few excerpts from discussions on this building project.

I am concerned about the "sharing" of the community centre as I don't think that can work and community programs will be compromised. -Sharon
Breslau is the designated area for future growth of Waterloo region. Our needs will increase with the population. Putting a school there not only drastically reduces our green space, but it severely limits any potential options for expanding the community centre in future. -Bill
I'd love for the community centre to remain as is. There is enough unused space on the far end of Shallow Creek and at the end of Andover where the future development board is for the WCDSB construct a new educational facility. -Ashley
Memorial Park is the only parkland we have in Riverland. My children love to play and run in that field (daytime hours) as well as the playground. The community centre has great day programs that will be compromised if the school is to take over. It's a loose loose situation personally for me and for many in the community! -Michelle
My issue is way more then it just backing onto other houses, I think people also need to think about everything as a whole not just one aspect. -Samantha
I definitely do not want a school there. I too back onto the park and I like it that way, don't really want to see all that lovely green space become pavement and building. -Kat

I have contacted Mayor Shantz, Councillor Shantz and Councillor Martin and sent them a link to my letter.  Both Ward 3 councillors replied to me and informed me that more information would be made available at the February 26 meeting in the Community Centre at 7:00pm.  They both informed me that they only learned of these plans a few weeks ago so all of this is pretty new.  To prepare for this meeting I have created a change.org petition to urge the WCDSB and the Township of Woolwich to choose an undeveloped location for the new school.  To gauge how many individuals do not support this location.  Breslau needs Memorial Park to remain a public park allowing access to everyone at all times of the day.

I want to emphasize that I am encouraged by the cooperation and collaboration between the township and the school board.  I am excited about the construction of a library, however, we need green space in our communities, now more than ever, as Breslau continues to expand.  If this school is built on a new undeveloped location our community will get more green space.  That is a win - win.

With the understanding that we have not heard the entire story about this project and that we will probably learn more about it at the meeting, here is petition.

We urge the Township of Woolwich and the WCDSB to build the new school on undeveloped land not on the green space of Breslau Memorial Park.
https://www.change.org/p/township-of-woolwich-waterloo-catholic-district-school-board-we-urge-the-township-of-woolwich-and-the-wcdsb-to-build-the-new-school-on-undeveloped-land-not-on-the-green-space-of-breslau-memorial-park?recruiter=225004941
If you are interested in signing the petition click the link above.  Please share to other members of our community who may also be interested in this project.

 I support Breslau Memorial Park upgrades, I support a much needed library facility in our ever growing town, I support forward thinking development in Breslau, I support the construction of a school, I do not support this location.

Thanks for reading.


UPDATE: This was just sent to me from the township.
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Wednesday, 28 January 2015

Green Space More Important than New School

(photo credit Lindsay Murray)

Dear Woolwich Mayor Sandy Shantz and Chair of WCDSB Manuel da Silva,

I am writing this letter to let you know that as a resident of Breslau I have significant concerns with your plans to build a new school in the green space directly behind my house.  While I acknowledge the need for this school and the desperate need in Breslau for a proper library and accompanying services, I strongly disagree with your chosen location or the way this project has been handled.  Several years ago my family built a new home in Breslau and we selected a new lot based on the characteristic that the lot backed onto open green space.  This characteristic cost me a $5000 premium added to my purchase price.  I did not pay $5000 to the builder so that I can look at a school building, do you plan on providing me a refund?

Secondly, you are proposing that this is a good location for this school because it will allow the school to share the community centre gym.  I have doubts that a gymnasium can be shared as my experiences have taught me that gym time often comes at a premium.  Especially with daily physical activity being involved in the school curriculum.  What do you propose to do with existing programs that run during the day at the community centre gym now?  Will sharing this space with a school limit the expansion of programs because the school will require the space?  As a community gym we should be focusing on developing community programs through out the entire day, accessible to as many members of the community as possible I can see this "shared gym" becoming exclusively "catholic school gym" very quickly.  Just like my premium "shared" green space being turned into a school.

Additionally, Breslau is significantly larger than other parts of the township yet the region has consistently dragged it's feet to provide us proper library services.  Many of us in Breslau feel better served by the Kitchener Public Library then we do by our own system and now you try to use this school to get us a library.  We deserve a library based on our population size and the potential circulation of much needed items and services.  There is no need to link it to a new project.

Thirdly, two schools in such close proximity in Breslau would create a traffic nightmare every morning and afternoon.  Our fully open and accessible public school in Breslau already has a traffic problem every morning because of the community that has built up around it.  Your proposed school location will cause more traffic problems because our subdivision only has a 3 connections to Woolwich Street.  Currently, Shields St is locked up at 8:20am & 2:40pm and Dolman St. also has increased traffic.  The proposed location for this school would lock up the final connection, Andover Drive.

I significantly value my green space and I don't think I need to start quoting the large body of research knowledge that green space has significant positive outcomes in health and well being.  I encourage you to build this school on land that does not already have a purpose.  When you take away green space you never get it back.  The photo above (provided by my neighbour) shows the space that you want your school on. As the end of Woolwich township that often gets over looked for upgrades I welcome the idea that we want to upgrade the facilities and the park.  They are badly needed but so is the space your want this school on. You may not come down to Breslau and visit much but people use this space.  All of it.  From kites to bocce to baseball to soccer to picnics on the grass to kids on bikes.  This is not empty space!  There is plenty of empty undeveloped space only a few hundred metres away please look over there!  Save the community centre for the entire community and build a school for the selected Catholic students that get to attend on actual empty space.

I would like to finish of by saying as someone who will definitely be affected by this school building why do I learn about this via the newspaper.  Communication here was definitely lacking and I am assuming, now that the can of worms is opened, you may be getting a bit more communication then you bargained for.  I support Breslau Memorial Park upgrades, I support a much needed library facility in our ever growing town, I support forward thinking development in Breslau, I support the construction of a school, I do not support this location.

Thank you for your time.

Matthew VanderMeer
Breslau Resident

Here is a follow up post to this and a call to action!

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Monday, 29 September 2014

Gender Equality and #HeForShe

Gender equality and feminism gets very complicated very quickly and many people (myself included) are afraid to speak up or discuss this issue because we are concerned that we may get something wrong or offend someone.  We don't take the time to become truly informed about how others are treated based on their gender so instead we choose to be silent.  I am ashamed at times that I do not speak louder and I have only just begun to understand the privalege that I have to be a white, cis, male, married, have two kids and live in a typical sub-division home.  I have never before understood (nor do I claim that I fully understand now) the impact of my privilege or how life might be different if those characteristics of myself did not exist.  I am inspired to write this post because of Emma Watson's #HeForShe speech at the UN.


For those of you who are new to the idea of privilege I would encourage you to go and take a look at this blog post by Jeremy Dowsett, What my bike has taught me about white privilege. Dowsett discusses racial inequality and one way to understand it. I would encourage you to read the article and his follow up post. Inequality of any group for whatever the reason results in a breakdown of society and a lack of progress in our world.  Ms. Watson graciously lays out the major inequality between men and women and that inequality needs to be addressed. She advocates for the need to stop seeing equality as a He vs. She debate. Both men and women can be confined by their gender and this is where the conversation needs to be.  For more on this project I would encourage you to visit HeForShe.org.  I visited the site and I made a commitment to gender equality. When I visited the page and made my commitment I was number 78 668.



As of October 29, 2014 this number has climbed to 160 342.  I am encouraged by this and I am challenged.  I continue to learn everyday that I need to unlearn patterns of behaviour that I have unconsciously adopted.
My most recent challenge is to stop complimenting people, women specifically, solely on their appearance.  I always believed that I was doing a good thing by complimenting people on looks and appearance but these things can easily slide into an offensive category if you have not already developed a relationship with them. The typical male backlash on this idea is why is it wrong to tell someone they look good.  My response is that it isn't wrong in its own right but if that is the only positive thing that you notice about someone then you are fully missing the point. We are all extremely complex individuals and our outward appearance is only one small part of what makes us who we are. People want to feel loved and they want to know that those they care about find them attractive.  Your goal is to make people feel valued.  I know that I feel valued when someone notice the work that I have accomplished or the support I have provided, I feel valued when I am asked for my opinion.  How do you feel valued? How can you make others feel valued? For those that are close to you, you would hope they notice that you made a slight change to your appearance but to everyone else this is not a relevant point.  This is the time where I remind you that I do not understand what it is like to be a women in today's culture with such high emphasis placed on a physical appearance.  All I know is that I need to concentrate on placing more focus on the person and their skills and abilities and less on their physical dimensions.

To expand the point of equality, we all have to fight for equality between all groups of people.  If you do not fight for equality when you are in a position of privilege or power when that position becomes compromised no one will be fighting for you.  If history has taught us anything we know that your position in society or the influence that your particular demographic holds is in no way going to stand forever.  Beyond this equality is the right thing to do. Fight for religious, gender, and racial equality now, identify your privilege, learn from it and support and fight for others with it.  Fight for your mothers, daughters, sisters, neighbours and strangers.  Equality.

Ms. Watson has stood up for something and she has been criticised, shamed and even threatened for it.  I know that I will never received the same type of criticisms which is why I need to stand up and state the system we have now is massively broken.  Not only do we have to stand and say enough, but we have to call out that guy who makes the ignorant remarks.  Make a point that this is not how we develop a equal and fair society. This is my challenge and this is my commitment. I stand for equality, what do you stand for?


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