There are a couple of events slated for Monday evening, one in North Delta and the other in Ladner, that are symptomatic of the disjointed municipality we call home.
The gathering in North Delta is for the launch of Collaborate Delta, a new organization that aims to bridge the gaps that exist in a municipality with three distinct communities separated by farmland and one giant bog. The premise of Collaborate Delta is that if groups that service this area come together to share advice and expertise, they, and we, will be better off as a result.
It's a sound principle and a noble undertaking, although it runs head-long into the ongoing challenge of uniting three communities that, in many instances, don't have a lot in common other than the fact they fall within Delta's rather arbitrary boundaries.
That brings me to the second event scheduled for Monday evening: Century Group president Sean Hodgins will be updating Delta council, and all others that care to visit municipal hall, on his proposal for the Southlands property in Tsawwassen.
Any development application for this piece of real estate is guaranteed to be contentious, but a component of the debate this time around is the concern that North Delta-based council members, and/or those elected on the strength of their support in North Delta, will end up determining Tsawwassen's future.
It's got to such a point that some have suggested Tsawwassen separate from the rest of Delta in order elect politicians that will listen to their wishes.
The thinking is that a Tsawwassen-only council wouldn't even entertain a proposal for the Southlands, something the North Delta-laden group has had the audacity to do.
The two gatherings, which are being held just 15 kilometres apart, speak to the chasm that has long existed in these parts. There have been many efforts over the years to bring Delta's communities, and its people, together, but they've continually run up against two immovable forces: geography and human nature.
It's only natural to care about what's going on where you live, but that interest quickly wanes the further you stray from home. North Delta is not that far, but for some South Deltans that rarely make the trek, it can seem like a world away.
Collaborate or separate? Inclusive or exclusive? If there were a simple solution it would have been undertaken long ago, but there's not, so the fragmentation still persists - a mere 133 years after incorporation.
