Attention Census Canada. If you really want to know how many people live in Clearwater and area, you don't need to go door-to-door. All you need to do is open a new grocery store and then count how many people show up.
It isn't often that one is present at a turning point in history but it was hard to escape the impression that was what was happening during last Sunday's grand opening of the new Buy-Low supermarket in Clearwater.
What's the big deal about a new food store opening? After all, it happens all the time.
It's a big deal for Clearwater, though.
The new store will pull people off the highway who otherwise would not stop.
Once in the store to buy groceries or whatever, it would be quite easy to persuade them to take a quick side-trip to see the waterfalls. And once they spend a few hours doing that, well, they might as well stay for the night – or two or three.
We've heard lots of talk over the years about various mines proposed for the area and what effect they might have on the local economy.
The fact is, Highway 5 itself is a gold mine running right through our community. Up until now, far too many people travelling that route could pass through this town and not know it existed.
Having a major food store and then a shopper centre next to the highway will benefit all tourism-related businesses and, through them, the community as a whole.
And it will benefit Wells Gray Park, by bringing in more visitors and raising its profile.
Up until recently, this community has suffered from a lack of planning. People have gone off and put up buildings and businesses wherever they pleased. The result has been, to borrow a description from former town councillor Bert Walker, as if all the parts of a town were put on a blanket, and then that blanket was given a toss to scatter them.
The new Buy-Low store and the Clearwater Shopping Centre that it will be part of promise to rationalize and consolidate development.
All of this is the direct result of incorporation. Before Clearwater was a municipality, there were numerous proposals to build a second shopping centre in various locations. All sputtered and failed.
At the opening the executives from Buy-Low were full of praise for how the District of Clearwater had expedited the project. With construction starting in April, the store could not have been completed in the short time it took without the full cooperation of the municipality's staff and council, they said.
The new Buy-Low store and shopping center are just the first major fruits resulting from Clearwater's becoming a municipality. They won't be the last.