Forewords

Socio-economic issues are a staple for politicians and journalists. As a newspaper editor and sometime civic politician, I’ve written about them and helped set public policies on them throughout my life. Urban planning, street conflict, housing, healthcare, crime — you name it, they all appear in media headlines, editorials and thick files on the desks and shelves of policy influencers. So when Dr. Peter Tsigaris asked me to read and comment on a book compiled by his students on socio-economic issues in Kamloops, I was delighted at the opportunity. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Peter on other projects and am well aware of the respect in which he’s held at Thompson Rivers University and of the thoroughness and expertise with which he approaches his subject matter, so I expected this one to be of high quality. I wasn’t disappointed. The aptly named In the Shadow of the Hills – Socio-economic Struggles in Kamloops tackles several key challenges facing this city we know and love as Canada’s Tournament Capital.

Some chapters offer new insights into long-standing issues; others break new ground. All make us think about the socio-economics of Kamloops in new ways. At a time when a plethora of such issues confronts the resources of the community, often evading solutions, and as denizens grapple with decisions on new amenities and constructing a vision for the future, this work is especially opportune. Communities like ours carry a heavy burden of problems to solve and opportunities to meet. Many of them will never be completely solved or seized. Like the old game of whack-a-mole, or bobbing for apples, just as progress is being made on one, another pops up. And improvement is often superficial. When we wrestle with such issues, of course, we look for benefits. But getting there takes money. The availability of that capital depends on the economic health of the community, so the local economy is a major influence on how we prioritize and approach our challenges.

The students of Peter Tsigaris’ class clearly identify their choices to represent the environment in which we live, then basically ask, “What if we tried this option? What would it accomplish? What would it cost?” Whether it be hot-button topics or riding the bus every day, the students put them under a microscope — from healthcare to the economic impact of COVID and neighbourhood unemployment.

They’re undeterred by what we’d call traditional thinking. For example, it’s long been common wisdom that while there might be certain benefits to Kamloops having its own municipal police force instead of contracting the job to the RCMP, it would be much too costly. One student does a thoughtful cost-benefit analysis that challenges that assumption. Another takes on the highly current, and divisive, question of a new performing arts centre, delving into how much taxpayers of varying incomes would be willing to pay in annual taxation. Yet another examines the disparity in performance between public and private schools and the role played by low-income neighbourhoods. In fact, throughout the book, the authors typically take things right down to the neighbourhood level and onto the kitchen table. Without the resources that would be available to governments, funded agencies or corporate experts to accomplish their work, the students make ample use of existing studies, statistics and interviews with people involved in the issues. The chapter on homelessness sums up the general approach very well, referencing “a synthesis of empirical research, policy analysis and firsthand narratives.”

I hope those involved in the varied socio-economic issues raised in “Shadow of the Hills” — be they community advocacy groups and their leaders, chamber of commerce and business improvement associations, the many boards, committees and agencies tasked with finding answers, but especially civic lawmakers — read this book and take it to heart.

— Mel Rothenburger.

Kamloops, British Columbia is a mid-sized Canadian city that faces challenges common to many other similar communities across Canada, but one very positive attribute of this interior community is the presence of a highly regarded centre of post secondary learning – Thompson Rivers University. As a former faculty member that went on to become councillor then mayor of Kamloops followed by eights years as a provincial member of the Legislative Assembly and cabinet minister, I feel honoured to write the forward for this collection of studies in economics.

From public transit and homelessness, to policing and the importance of culture, these analyses plumb the depths of the issues facing many modern cities and provide students with an insight into the complexities of the intersection of economics, politics and sociology. In my public service I tried to tackle many of the subject covered here and I find these works thoughtful and insightful, and perhaps even a good start for current elected representatives to follow.

Congratulations to Dr. Tsigaris and his students for taking this project on and contributing to the very community that has seen so many other benefits from TRU.

— Terry Lake.