The District of Mission will use its zoning bylaws to try and get child sex offender James Conway out of the community.
Council has decided to take the issue of the home he is living in on Dewdney Trunk Road to court, according to Mayor Randy Hawes. The property is not zoned for care homes or halfway houses, according to the District. Protesters have been rallying outside the home daily.
Conway had been living in Abbotsford, where the city had filed a suit in BC Supreme Court to have zoning bylaws enforced. Conway, who has a history of sex offences against Children, moved to Mission at the beginning of August before a court could rule on Abbotsford’s suit.
Mayor Randy Hawes said he believes the use of the home as a halfway house violates zoning bylaws. He also said the house is owned by a senior employee of WSJ Canada Inc., an agency contracted by the province to provide housing and supervision.
Hawes and several community representatives are meeting Tuesday with representatives from BC Corrections and Community Living BC, to discuss the problems posed by Conway’s move to Mission.
