To the Editor,
Re: Cantelon given responsibility for seniors, Oct. 1.
As longtime supporters of Ron Cantelon, we would like to congratulate him on his new position as seniors advocate.
Perhaps now in his new position of authority, he will have the courage to deal with the wet-house issue.
Cantelon, Premier Christy Clark and his party have vowed to put families first and conduct themselves in an open and transparent manner.
Little did he know that when he partnered up with the City of Nanaimo, he was supporting a council that is acting like a bunch of punch drunk sailors.
Their hunger for power and provincial dollars has clouded their better judgement. They have deceived the public and altered land use without due public process to ensure they got their own way.
Why would they do that? The answer is simple. They get their downtown core cleaned up and secure elusive provincial funding. But at what cost?
They think nothing of sacrificing the safety of our school children and senior citizens to achieve their goals.
Our homeless need help and nobody would disagree. If the city staff and councillors had done proper research and involved the public in their decision making, perhaps we would have confidence in their decision.
However, when the city’s own social planner says the councillors do not understand low-barrier housing, how the heck can we feel confident?
Cantelon’s government controls the purse strings. Even though our councillors hide their heads in the sand, he can make sure the public has its say.
He must demand open public meetings before he and his government take any further action. How can “active drug houses” be good adjacent to any school or seniors housing? I’m certain he is much too intelligent to ignore that.
Moving people around to hide the problem is not the answer. Spend our tax dollars responsibly. Build a proper re-hab facility and give our homeless the help they truly need.
Bruce MacDonald
Nanaimo
