Editor:
Re: Show some respect for past PM, Jan. 20.
Letter-writer L.Young writes, in support of columnist Tom Fletcher (Looking back on Harper, Jan. 6), that we “should show some respect for our previous prime minister,” for all he has done.
For anyone – and I mean anyone – who labours under the delusion that Stephen Harper ever had Canada’s best interests at heart, there is some required reading! Get and read the book Party of One by investigative journalist Michael Harris. It will definitely knock those ‘Conservative blinders’ from your eyes, and make you see Harper and all his toadies in a blinding new light!
I dare you to read it!
M. Wolsey, Surrey
Provincial viewpoint
Re: Bennett’s lead one to follow, Jan. 8 letters.
I’m not sure if letter-writer Roderick V. Louis was in B.C. at the time of the Bill Bennett Social Credit government, but I sure was.
When it came to Expo 86, the government overpaid for the land to the owners of the day, only to be faced with the fact that the land was contaminated and needed many more millions to clean it up.
After Expo, they then sold it for less than what we paid for it.
Expo 86 was such a colossal disaster and in danger of being a non-event, the Socred government enlisted the aid of Jimmy Pattison, for $1, to clean up the mess that they had created and get the fair back on track.
I think the crowning achievement of the government was its giving of five free shares of the B.C. Resources Investment Corporation (BCRIC) to every British Columbian, which are worth how much today?
I don’t think I need to say anything about SkyTrain. Every few months it speaks to us through the news media all by itself.
I’ve found, over the years, that it is not really a good idea to follow the lead of any government – local, provincial or federal.
Barry Gaudin, White Rock
First-Nation fairness
I am writing in regards to a topic that many haven’t spoke to – the leadership of local Semiahmoo First Nation chief and council. Thank the open-book transparency for a small window into the motives of the very people that are trusted with providing fairness and equality to their people (Band members ‘disheartened’ by pay, Aug. 19).
The squalor and substandard living that is a reality for many members is very visible with one drive down Beach Avenue. Look into the bushes and you will see many examples.
My niece has never received her status after many attempts with no assistance from this band office other than more roadblocks.
The Semiahmoo Park has been barricaded from the public even though our tax money funds these people, who posted a $3-million surplus last year all the while lining their own pockets at the expense of others without a voice.
These leaders should be held accountable to lawful, fair practice. These poor souls should have a caring and trustworthy leadership.
Kerry Quirk, White Rock
Mayoral oversight
Re: City of White Rock targets ‘abusive’ residents, Jan. 27.
Is Mayor Wayne Baldwin at war with the residents of White Rock?
If he stopped for one moment and considered his record, the complete lack of communication with the residents of White Rock, his secrecy, his deliberate clouding of issues, he might gain some idea of the growing level of frustration he is fostering in the hearts of the people he was elected to serve.
Could it be that outbursts in council stem directly as a result of all other avenues of communication being choked off? How is further limiting access and hearing the voices of the residents going to improve things?
If the volume of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests is up (White Rock residents await answers, Jan. 22), that would indicate there is a problem with the transparency and lack of information and communication from city hall. It would also indicate there are things being questioned that deserve answers. The FOI act is supposed to promote clarity in government. City hall is using it as a shield.
I’m not going to rehash the long list of questionable actions and decisions made under Mayor Baldwin’s governance that have resulted in the avalanche of FOI requests. It is far too long a list and far too depressing to look at.
I question the mayor as to why he prefers an occluded and veiled approach to… well, to just about everything, over a healthy, transparent and open approach.
There are too many roadblocks for residents to make their desires heard. There are too many decisions that are directly opposed to what the residents have shown they want. There is too much pettiness, whining, us-vs.-them attitude and, as my father would have said, “bullcrap” coming from the mayor’s office.
He is not “the boss”, the residents of White Rock are. If you don’t follow the directions and requests made of you by your boss, you deserve to be fired.
Unfortunately we can’t do that until the next election – short of the rest of council taking a stand and refusing to let this continue and refuse to attend council meeting for 60 days. The fallout, however, is that would mean council business would be ground to a halt. It would also trigger a byelection for all the seats, and councillors would be putting their own jobs on the line.
It would be unreasonable to expect that everything done by council will have all residents happy all the time, but honestly, if everything you do blows up in your face and has you covering your butt, maybe it’s time to rethink what you are doing.
Put plainly, the problem isn’t the residents of White Rock, the problem is the mayor.
Scott Keddy, White Rock
• • •
I read with interest the many letters to the editor from the citizens of our community regarding our elected mayor and ‘the slate’ of councillors.
It seems odd that an individual goes from being a successful bureaucrat to that of a mayor embroiled in turmoil.
The constant misuse of in-camera meetings suffocates opposition and healthy debate, effectively eliminating the voices of the citizens of the on key issues.
Do not forget that the City of White Rock since 1956 had on their meeting agenda a question period afforded to its citizens. This was abolished in 2015 by the mayor and certain members of council.
Citizens should not have to use the FOI process to catch up on issues that would normally be discussed at regular meetings.
So yes, we will go the full term with the current mayor and ‘slate’ members, all the while forced to hold our nose with their excessive in-camera meetings and decisions.
The citizens of White Rock will come out of the ether hopefully on the day of the next civic election.
Ron Eves, White Rock
• • •
True leadership establishes a clear vision, shares it so others willingly follow, provides tools to achieve it, and balances conflicting interests.
White Rock’s mayor does not demonstrate any of those traits. He lurches from one debacle to another: privatizing garbage collection; clear cutting the hump, backroom deals with Epcor, proposed megatowers sprouting like mushrooms outside the OCP and, until the Jan. 11 reversal, treating our water supply with chloramine.
All of these have been presented as faits accomplis – rushed through city hall with little, if any, citizen input.
It’s quite possible there are valid reasons why details can’t be shared. Regardless, a real leader gets a constituency on his side by proactively presenting an issue as fully and as transparently as possible.
That’s not this mayor’s way. Instead, residents endure constant rounds of “defend, deflect, deny.” That isn’t leadership. It’s cowardice.
White Rock deserves better.
Anthony Manning, White Rock
Unjustification
Re: Questions still up in the air, Dec. 23 letters
It appears White Rock Couns. Grant Meyers, Lynne Sinclair, Bill Lawrence and Megan Knight do not feel the need to be accountable to their electorate. They have had five weeks to provide their reasons for approving the Elegant development 21 and 24 towers on Oxford Street.
None have been given to date since my previous letter.
This lack of transparency suggests their decisions were unjustifiable and not in the public interest.
Susan Muraja, Surrey