Editor:
Re: City-First Nation talks hit an impasse, Oct. 11.
Mayor Wayne Baldwin’s dystopian-like view of White Rock versus Semiahmoo First Nations communities is fully manifesting itself in his 19th century colonial-rule attitude.
First of all, the Memorial Park project has gone from $1.5 million to $5.68 million in one year, and it hasn’t even started. It’s built on leased land and BNSF is going to up the annual leasing rate by several hundreds of thousands of dollars. Who spends all that money on rented property and then has to pay increased rental on top of it?
The closed meeting of the two councils was not a conciliatory one; it was arbitrarily dominated by one person. The meeting was hijacked while the rest of council sat in somnambulist silence as the big kahuna decreed his proclamations.
The arrogance of saying “it is unlikely that there will be anything” found by an archeology study. Apparently the mayor is now endowed with super-human X-ray vision.
Obviously he has a problem with SFN exercising its charter rights supported by the Supreme Court of Canada.
The colonial attitude is signaled by Baldwin’s initial refusal to meet with SFN in preparation for this project on their “ancestral lands.”
He seems hugely out of touch with not only Semiahmoo First Nations but with the taxpaying voting residents of White Rock.
I applaud SFN Chief Harley Chappell and councillors Joanne Charles and Roxanne Charles for their persistence and their unwillingness to be bullied and intimidated. Sounds like things are just warming up and the big battle is yet to come.
Garry Wolgemuth, White Rock
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It seems to me that if the talks on the Memorial Park project have broken down, we should remove the fencing until the matter can be resolved.
They should also terminate the contract for the rental of eight portable washrooms that are presently taking up four parking spaces.
Mayor Wayne Baldwin and council, let’s get on with responsible governing.
Michael Pearce, White Rock
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Open letter to Semiahmoo Chief Harley Chappell.
I would like to apologize for the actions of White Rock’s Mayor Wayne Baldwin and its municipal council for the way they have been treating you and the people of Semiahmoo First Nation.
Please believe that they do not speak for me nor a vast majority of the citizens of White Rock.
We do not disrespect our neighbours and are embarrassed by the way they have been treating you. It is a terrible shame that you are being rudely dismissed the same way we the taxpaying citizens of this community are. Decisions are made behind closed doors.
Worse still, the decisions are made by those who are deaf to the wishes of their constituency.
Thank you for standing up for your rights. Know that in so doing you are reinforcing what we believe are our rights also.
Bill Holmes, White Rock