There is a problem when we elect people who have no vision for the future. When somebody with an idea comes along, careful and reasoned thinking goes out the window. Everybody and their dog speaks their mind, usually with knee-jerk reactions.

We end up not even knowing if an idea is good or bad. Ideas get rammed through, or pushed aside, depending on who is the loudest, the most persuasive, or the biggest bully.

A good example of this right in High Prairie is our beautiful Aquatic Centre. It’s a great facility and lovely building. But not built as part of the Gordon Buchanan Rec Centre and just pushed through without careful and reasoned thought.

So are we going to have any reasoned talk about a nuclear waste storage facility in the M.D. of Big Lakes? Not this week, it appears. Opponents of such a site came charging out of their comfortable chairs, intent on browbeating any and all who might even dare want to look at the pros and cons. How dare they consider such a foolish idea!

Fortunately, our High Prairie region has many experts on nuclear power and nuclear waste. When news of the look see came out, some of them phoned M.D. of Big Lake councillors and naturally, shared their wisdom what a bad idea such a facility would be.

M.D. councillors by motion had voted 5-4 to only investigate the $24 billion facility, as we reported.

But after criticism from local experts, Enilda Councillor Ray Dupres felt compelled to clear the air by saying they needed to “set the record straight”.

Not only did he agree with local experts it was a bad idea, but now he reckoned they didn’t even need an investigation!

Gosh, the facts are so plain he can’t understand how they had missed them! Of course, the M.D. had only voted to investigate, to collect information for gosh sakes, but since there are so many local experts, even that isn’t required. Not even a written statement from somebody laying out all the negatives. Not needed at all. End of story.

Also tripping over themselves to “set the record straight” was local radio station, Prairie FM. It wasn’t really an investigation as someone might have reported folks. Not even that. Nope. Got to get the facts straight, even if that means changing the facts to suit the story. Or is it changing the story to suit the facts? If you misunderstood, well, you better clear your ears out. Oh well, moving on.

Now, in reality, a $24 billion facility to store waste probably isn’t in the cards. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization, tasked with looking for a site, itself says one location isn’t a good idea.

But hey, how about ten? At maybe $3 or $4 billion a pop? Given that Tolko was a $175 million project, and the spinoffs from that plant are now so obvious, can you imagine what 20 times that or more would mean to our local economy?

No, we can’t.

Apparently, even thinking such thoughts is an outrageously bad idea.