Category Archives: Municipal

Federal, Municipal, Provincial

Tuesdays Abby Times Editorial.

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I agree with Tuesday’s editorial commentary on elections.

We need “to demand more honesty” from politicians and government. We also need to demand responsible behaviour and our right to know what is going on without the need to file numerous Freedom of Information requests.

Downloading costs to lower levels of government or avoiding dealing with the problems is not the actions of a responsible government.

Politicians need to be reminded that the dollars they spend on big raises or building public monuments to themselves and their egos are not monopoly money but dollars earned by taxpayers through hard work.

We need to remind our local MPs and MLAs that they are not there to serve the best interests of the political parties they belong to, but to serve the best interests of the people who elected them to look after their (the citizen’s) best interests.

No federal Conservative in BC should be re-elected, because of their failure to stand up for their constituents and tell Stephen Harper “NO!” on calling an election that is distracting and so interfering with “November’s municipal campaign, loaded with close-to-home issues that really matter this time.”

Citizens need to join in the (particularly local municipal) debates on issues; priorities; fiscal responsibility; thinking problems, proposed actions and the effects of the actions through; integrity and the fact politicians are there as our representatives and to act in citizens best interests – not their own or a political party’s interests/agenda.

Perhaps it is also time for citizens to remember that we are not limited to voting for the poor and limited choices offered by political parties or politicians.

We have the right to encourage people we think would make good city councillors, mayors, MLAs or MPs to put their names forward for office, to work to elect them and to vote for them. It is not nearly as easy as just going with whatever is offered. But it will/would ensure we get people who represent us, send a loud message to all public officials and “…reclaim the power at the polls.”

“enough is enough.”

Homeless, Municipal

The Homeless Numbers Game

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Any homeless you think you see on the streets of Abbotsford must be mirages, hallucinations or some other form of figments of imagination.

That is what I was forced to conclude when I took a moment to do the math and add up the numbers; the numbers of homeless that I have heard stated by organizations, groups or individuals as having been assisted off the streets by said organizations, groups and individuals.

When I added up all the numbers I have heard claimed recently it turns out that according to the numbers not only does Abbotsford not have any homeless on its streets, Abbotsford has negative numbers of homeless its streets.

Now either Abbotsford is experiencing some strange space/time continuum disruption, or Abbotsford has become the center of some kind of psychic/hallucinatory phenomenon, or we need to examine/define what should be meant when claims are made about the numbers of homeless “assisted into housing or off the streets.”

Homeless, Municipal, Provincial

Irony, Paradox and Greek Tragedy.

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Irony, Paradox and Greek Tragedy.

The front page of Saturday September 6/08’s News overflowed with irony and paradox flavoured by classical Greek tragedy.

On one side of the page we read of the Salvation Army and about government pouring money into a program to help people get off the streets. “Miller said he was put in contact with Simpson through the Salvation Army.”

On the other side of the page you read about government putting people out onto the streets. Cory Frostad stating: “The city bylaw is going to put us on the streets. The bylaw has no right to do such a thing.”

In this case it is a conflict between municipal and provincial government actions. But this kind of conflict and counterproductive behaviour happens often and seemingly easily as a result of policies and actions by a single level of government.

Government’s refuse to listen to something they do not want to hear; like an ostrich they bury their head it the sand – and then are surprised when programs and actions do not work or result in negative consequences.

When the City began formulating its recovery house policy it was pointed out that before closing down “recovery houses” they needed to put in place affordable housing or they would be throwing people onto the streets homeless.

Two years later the City has failed to increase the stock of affordable housing in the housing market and in pursuing its recovery house policy and closing down this type of affordable housing, the City is throwing people onto the streets.

When the province announced its 24/7 shelter plan it was pointed out that without providing affordable housing for people to move into the shelters were going to become flophouses because there was nowhere for the people to move out of the shelters to.

Even with the “cheat” of an extra rent subsidy to those using the shelter plan (an extra rent subsidy denied to those who are not/were not a client of the shelter plan) the 0% vacancy rate for places under $1,000 on the downtown eastside means there no housing clients can afford. And while the cost of housing in Abbotsford has not yet reached the same $1,000 level, there is not nearly enough affordable housing to meet the demand.

In both cases you would think that the need for and the importance of affordable housing in getting people off the streets would be obvious – apparently not to government.

As long as governments, and other agencies, fail to think through the consequences of their actions and fail to focus on what the goal is (housing people) and what is needed to achieve that goal (affordable housing) actions by these groups will continue to have more in common with a Three Stooges movie than with a successfully executed strategic plan.

The Result being an occasional newspaper front page that overflows with irony and paradox, while the homeless, mentally ill, addicted and poor continue to suffer the suffer the tragedy of homelessness.

Municipal

Another empty Abbotsford city council promise

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Another empty Abbotsford city council promise.

City council assured us that fees at Abbotsford Recreation Centre would not take a large jump to cover the additional operating costs of the Plan A addition at ARC.

I now find myself paying a 13.1% fee increase to use ARC. To council, habituated to just reaching into taxpayers pockets for more, a 13.1% increase may not seem like a large jump in fees, but to me, coming as it does out of my pocket, it is a large jump.

I am not really surprised by the double digit price increases given council’s record of promises made and broken, along with their misleading or incorrect statements on City financial matters. Particularly in light of what was revealed about council promises made and not kept with respect to the crematorium issue.

I have no doubt that the City will have an excuse for the 13.1% raise; excusing making being the one thing the City and council excel at.

Actually, I am not really interested in whatever excuse they come up with for this double digit increase. The real excuse I am interested is the one they will come up with as the cost overrun on Plan A closes in on 50% ($42.5 million).

It’s bound to be a whopper.

Homeless, Municipal

New Recovery House Policy

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Mr. John Smith still has not answered the most important question concerning the recovery house policy.

Mr. Smith and council have failed to answer: “when you close a ‘bad’ recovery house, where are the people/residents going to go”?

I support closing bad recovery houses, probably not for the same reasons as Mr. Smith, but I do support closing them. But, and isn’t there always a but with a people problem? But I felt, and still feel, that Mr. Smith and council need to have a plan in place so the people in those recovery homes that will be closed have a place to go – rather than mindlessly adding 100 – 200 more homeless to the overcrowded, overrun streets of Abbotsford.

Since it appears the Mr. Smith and council have followed their usual policy with taxpayer questions, they did not listen and ignored the question, I want to pose something to think about for the citizens of Abbotsford who will be affected by the new recovery home policy.

Before celebrating the closing of a recovery house in your neighbourhood – where are the people who live in the house going to go?

Recovery houses were a market response to the demand for affordable housing. When you close a recovery house there is nowhere else the residents can afford to move to.

You may not have liked a recovery house in your neighbourhood but are you prepared for the ex-residents seeking shelter in you carports, crawl spaces, sheds or trees around your/their neighbourhood? With nowhere else to go the people are going to stay in the neighbourhood they know – your/their neighbourhood. That is their comfort zone and where they will want to stay.

Perhaps any newly displaced residents of recovery houses can find rides to Mr. Smith and other councilors homes and neighbourhoods?

After all they have been aware of the question of where displaced residents of recovery homes will go for over a year and … done nothing to address this question/aspect of the new recovery homes policy.