Municipal, Provincial

BC’s Community Charter not enforced?

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After reading the Abbotsford Today story concerning the non-action of the Liberal government on behalf of the taxpayers of Abbotsford to protect them from Abbotsford city Council’s violation of the Community Charter I have composed the following two letters to Gordon Campbell and Carole James.

I would urge people to send a copy of the first letter to the Premier and our local MLAs (premier@gov.bc.ca; john.vandongen.mla@leg.bc.ca; mike.dejong.mla@leg.bc.ca; randy.hawes.mla@leg.bc.ca) and a copy of the second letter to Carole James (carole@bc.ndp.ca; carole.james.mla@leg.bc.ca)

Dear Gordon Campbell: I am writing in order to achieve an understanding of how the Liberal government decides which of the provincial laws, statutes etc. it will enforce and which of the provincial laws, statutes etc. it will NOT enforce.

I had assumed that the provincial government would enforce all provincial laws, statutes etc.

However it has been brought to my attention that Deputy Minister Dale Wall of the Ministry of Community and Rural Development, the Ministry responsible for the Community Charter which governs the behavior of municipal governments, informed a concerned Abbotsford citizen (Lynn Perrin) that:

“It is Ministry practice not to obtain a legal opinion about whether a municipality has met the legislative requirements.”

Leaving aside, for the moment, the obvious question of why a government would pass laws, statutes etc. it does not intend to enforce and of the deception inherent in a government passing laws, statutes etc. it does not intent to enforce; contrast this non-action on violations of the Community Charter by a municipal government with the BC governments taking action to appeal the BC court ruling that where municipalities lack sufficient housing citizens who are homeless as a result of this lack of appropriate housing have the right to establish shelter on municipal property.

These circumstances would seem to suggest that the Liberal government policy is to deny the rights of citizens and the protection of law to citizens, giving preference to interests of municipalities to the extent of exempting them from answering to citizens or the courts for violations of the Community Charter.

Is the rule for deciding which laws, statutes etc. the provincial government of BC will enforce or not enforce:

1. enforce or support those laws, statutes etc. that violate the rights and needs of the citizens;

2. NOT enforce or support those laws, statutes etc. that protect the rights and protect citizens from acts of questionable legality by government.

If this is not the criteria the Liberal government uses to decide which laws, statutes etc. it will or will not enforce would you please provide the criteria upon which the Liberal government does make the enforce/non-enforce decision?

I also want to express my concern that the failure of the Liberal government to protect citizens by enforcing the laws will force citizens to resort to vigilantism to protect themselves.

I thank you for your attention to this matter and look forward to your reply so that I may come to an understanding of how decisions to enforce or NOT enforce laws, statutes etc. are made.

Yours Sincerely (citizens name)

Dear Carole James: I am writing to request that you and the NDP party stop grandstanding and trying to score political points on the matters of the HST and school budgets long enough to focus/address the Liberal governments stated policy of not enforcing the Community Charter and thus allowing municipal governments to do as they wish; forcing upon taxpayers the financial liabilities and consequences that result from a municipal government ignoring the provisions of the Community Charter.

I realize that the mundane day to day concerns of citizens such as the taxpayers of Abbotsford concern with the multi-million dollar liability and costs that have resulted from Abbotsford city council’s decision to ignore the Community Charter provisions on financial conduct pales in comparison with the opportunity to get your picture or name on TV or in the newspapers.

Nevertheless I and the citizens of Abbotsford would appreciate it if the NDP could task the Liberal government on their failure to enforce their own Community Charter.

Many citizens would also appreciate it if you could inform us what taxes/fees will be raise or programs cut to repay the Federal Government the $1,500,000,000.00 paid to BC and to offset the $200,000,000.00 yearly shortfall in the matter of the HST.

It would also be appreciated it if you would specify which taxes/fees you propose to raise and what programs will be cut to pay for additional funding for schools.

I thank you for your attention to these matters and look forward to your reply.

Yours Sincerely (citizens name)

Addiction, Issues, Mental Health

Recovery/Escape from homelessness is a tricky path.

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I was at a housing meeting where the speaker asked people to take out their keys and look at their house key; to take a moment to think about what the key meant or represented to them.

I don’t know what the others around the table thought or saw in their key. I don’t know what the speaker sees when he looks at his own key.

I suspect it was not what I saw in looking at my door key – a burden.

Like rain on a mountain, poverty slowly wears away at you.

The stress of scrambling and pinching pennies until they scream, month after month after month, in order to pay the rent and cover the monthly bills wears away at one’s spirit and mental health.

The stress wears away at one’s ability to manage/deal with anxiety disorders and as anxiety creeps back into your life, over time the levels of anxiety increase becoming harder and harder to deal with.

As anxiety works its way back into one’s life it brings with it feelings of panic, then panic attacks. Increasing anxiety and panic open the door for depression, obsessive-compulsive behaviours and negative thinking.

The grinding of the spirit and mind by the constant threat of homelessness drags at you, seemingly seeking to drag you into a downward mental spiral and back into a head space where your mental illness more and more impairs your ability to function.

Your house key, your home, becomes an albatross around your neck dragging you back into mental illness. You look at the key and you see a burden that portends a return to the darkness of mental illness and inevitably once again to homelessness.

As the strain on your mental health increases so does the temptation to seek relief or to take the edge off through self medication.

The roots of addiction are buried in the soil of seeking relief or alleviation from one’s own mind and the darkness or pain or both that reside there.

The need to find a doctor to fill out the medical report to renew one’s status as ‘persons with persistent multiple barriers’ or have your monthly income halved and face dealing with the fallout that would result from having one’s income abruptly reduced by 50% = stress+++.

A voice mail message conveys the need to phone the Ministry about an issue with the stub. Of course when you phone the line is always busy, forcing you to go down to the Ministry office.

As a result of past dealings with the Ministry, even when mentally well, dealing with the Ministry is at best a challenge. When one’s mental health is under pressure dealing with the Ministry employees means struggling to hold anxiety and panic at bay.

Facing a need to chill out in order to be able to enter the Ministry’s den and deal with the Ministry without succumbing to either (or both) an anxiety or panic attack … well a toke or two or three of marijuana to take the edge off and mellow you out becomes somewhat of a seriously temptation.

And yes, there are some prescription medications that take the edge off but they also stuff one’s head with cotton to the point of nonfunctioning. Remember you need to have a doctor prescribe any medication and since one of the current obstacles is the need to find a doctor …

Understanding just how tempting and easy it is to end up using whatever substances you can find that offer a way to deal with, alleviate and/or escape from one’s own mind and pain has a profound effect on how you view addiction and addicts.

Good thing – I made it into the Ministry. Bad thing – I made it into the Ministry. Part time work contributes to my income but getting paid every two weeks means every six months three pay periods are claimed as income for the month, resulting in exceeding the income permitted. This will result in a reduction of the next Ministry cheque by $280.

Although I have been able to scrimp and scramble and survive this reduction in the past, my finances have been exhausted to the point that no amount of scrambling will enable me to be able to pay June’s rent with this reduction.

Standing in the Ministry office Monday afternoon amending the stub to include the extra pay period did not cause feelings of anxiety or panic. The feeling evoked was much closer to relief.

Yes I now need to find someplace to store belongings, reduce my belongings to fit into that storage space, get those belongings stored and dispose of the rest of my belongings. But facing the constant risk of homelessness I have been forced for months to think about what to keep and what to let go of.

Rather than living in fear and anxiety of the sword falling, now that it has (or will shortly) fall it is a matter of dealing with what needs to be done to transition to homelessness. Having been homeless and lived in my car before homelessness does not hold fear or high anxiety.

Indeed although I will lose the $375 rent portion from the Ministry I will be over $200 ahead as I no longer have to pay the difference between the $375 and my actual rent. Additional savings will be realized as expenses related to having housing cease.

There is regret for the need to step back from volunteering and other community involvements in order to be able to focus on the day to day needs to survive while homeless.

Still, this simplifying of life will hopefully permit and/or contribute to the pursuit of a return to mental wellness.

Recovery from homelessness is more difficult and complex than it appears.

The current Mental Health, Housing and Social Development systems/programs hinder more than help, If you are not fortunate enough to escape the system before your luck runs out …

Such are the Realities of Life.

Addiction, Issues

Substance Use Workshop – recommended by the writer.

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Addiction Realities Workshop – Attendance Highly Recommended by the writer.

If you want knowledge on – What is EFFECTIVE support for substances users?

If you want knowledge on – how to be effective even in difficult or crisis situations.

If you seek to be informed on the underlying realities of the public policy issue of substance use.

If your life is touched by substance use.

You want to be at Seven Oaks Alliance Church (2575 Gladwin Road Abbotsford) on Wednesday night (May 5, 2010) for the Workshop presented by the Abbotsford Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Committee on Substance Use and Users.

I personally am looking forward to this workshop and would highly recommend it to anyone seeking to become informed on the harsh reality of substance use.

I picked Mr, Ron Prasad’s (Fraser East Concurrent Disorders Coordinator) brain when developing a training curriculum on concurrent disorders (substance use + mental health issues) because of his knowledge of substance use and its affect on mental health and mental health issues. I have also heard him speak to these issues.

I would urge anyone interested in gaining understanding of these issues who has the opportunity to learn from him, even as a single speaker, to do so.

Wednesday’s opportunity to not only hear from Ron Prasad but also from Mark Goheen is too strong a ‘double-bill’ to be missed.

I have attended workshops presented by Mark Goheen (Clinical Specialist, Maple Ridge Treatment Centre) and can attest to not only his knowledge and understanding but about his ability to communicate with his audience. Indeed I have a workshop (part 2) by Mr. Goheen on my schedule and am looking forward to gaining new insight, ideas and understanding.

I do not mean to slight Abbotsford’s Chief Constable Bob Rich with my enthusiastic recommendations of the other speakers at this workshop. I have heard Chief Rich speak and appreciated his reflection of the issues, problems and realities of trying to address what is a social and medical issue through the legal and criminal systems.

If you are looking to hear the myths, what ‘everybody knows’, the political line etc this is not the place to look.

But if you are looking to gain a realistic view and knowledge of the issues associated with substance use you want to be at Seven Oaks Alliance at 6 PM Wednesday May 5, 2010.

Issues, Provincial

Gordon Campbell or Rich Coleman?

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I cannot say how long I was sitting there in the silence with the letter from the Ministry of Housing and Social Development in my hand but when time resumed its passing I found myself contemplating the question of whether it would be best to kill Rich Coleman or Gordon Campbell in order to obtain maximum efficacy in creating change in mental health, housing and social assistance.

Some will undoubtedly wonder why Health Minister Kevin Falcon and/or Finance Minister Colin Hansen were not part of my internal debate on whom to dispatch, as both these politicians are as deserving of being shot as Coleman or Campbell.

All I can say is to please remember that I was not in the most rational state of mind at the time and it was Minister Coleman’s Housing and Social Development Ministry that had triggered my descent into a less than well state of mind.

Rich Coleman because shooing Gordon Campbell would cause too much disruption; Mr. Coleman would be replaced and politicians emphatically reminded their actions have consequences

Having to deal with Social Development remains a major trigger for me; with the power to take me right back into the very unwell head space that I was in at the time circumstances forced me to first deal with the then Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance.

I was extremely mentally unwell at the point I found myself beginning the challenge of jumping through the Housing and Social Development Ministry’s hoops and climbing over Ministry imposed barriers.

Indeed if I had not been fortunate enough to be part of a group at Triangle Resources at the time I would never have been able to cope with the stress, panic and depression brought on by the Ministry, a Ministry that in theory was suppose to help ,not hinder or worsen my situation.

I would undoubtedly have been among the many in desperate need of assistance whose personal challenges, in my case mental illness, are a barrier that prevents them from being able to navigate the labyrinth of demands the Ministry imposes on those seeking or needing assistance.

Within the mental trauma of that first onerously oppressive experience undoubtedly lays the explanation of the Ministry’s ability to trigger anxiety, depression and panic.

I do wonder why, given the Ministry’s files contain the information that anxiety, panic and depression (along with a few other challenges) are what resulted in my needing income assistance, it is that the Ministry feels the need to include a threat of a reduction in the assistance level in the letter?

Just in case the threat to housing etc was not enough to induce anxiety and panic the letter included a request to complete and submit the attached SSC form – which was not attached

Dealing with the repercussions that the threat of homelessness had upon me has made it far more of a challenge to gather and submit the demanded information and avoid sliding back into homelessness or into hospitalization.

It had been a long struggle back to balance and wellness from the effects the unusually high heat of last summer had on the effectiveness of my medication; the sweltering heat then proceeding to mess with my mind and mental health.

In our portion of Fraser Mental Health access to psychiatric help is a very limited resource. A referral by your doctor gets you onto the waiting list and means you will get to see a psychiatrist – in 9 months if you are fortunate.

So when my mental health went off a cliff and plunged downward, the reality was that if I was to avoid a major mental health crisis/breakdown the tools and plans I had gained working on my mental health would have to suffice to permit me to attain balance and wellness. Unless I turned suicidal or homicidal; whereupon I would attain access to psychiatric services at Abbotsford’s shiny new hospital.

My mental state was not helped by a visit to the doctor’s office in the fall. The doctor I had begun my quest for mental health with had left the practice to work at the hospital. In light of how difficult it is to find a family doctor in Abbotsford, I was relieved to be able to see another doctor in the practice that could renew my prescriptions.

Needing to have my prescriptions renewed I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to also ask the doctor to fill out the physician portion of the disability application and for a referral to a psychiatrist.

I had resisted filing out the paperwork for disability because it felt akin to conceding defeat on the employment front. However the hard economic reality in my life is that the rising costs of living mean I can no longer afford to worry about whether disability is an admission of defeat. In order to avoid becoming homeless once more I need to increase the amount of cash that is flowing in. Under the rules of the Housing and Social Development game, applying for disability is the option open to me to increase income to cover the increased (and increasing) costs of living.

Having secured the renewed prescription I enquired about getting the physician portion of the disability application completed.

Whereupon I was informed that mental illness was not a disability; that a disability would be if I was missing a few limbs, confined to a wheelchair or had the mental acuity of a cumquat and needed someone to change my diapers or dress me.

Considering the havoc that mental illness had inflicted on my Life over the past decade and the toll it has extracted over the course of my life it came as quite a surprise to be informed that mental illness was not a disability.

When I moved on to the matter of a referral to a psychiatrist I was not impressed to be told to go to mental health to get referred to a psychiatrist.

Needless to say this visit to the doctor did nothing to improve my deteriorated mental health.

Indeed other health and mental health professionals I spoke to about what occurred during my visit with the doctor suggested that the best thing I could do for my mental health was to find a new doctor.

I deferred seeking a new doctor to focus on working my way back to balance, wellness and serenity. Late summer, fall and the first months of winter were a struggle to move towards mental health and not slid into crisis and the hospital.

Having an array of wellness tools, plans on what to do to when being in an unhealthy headspace, good mental hygiene practices and a good support system allowed me to find mental balance.

Looming deadlines for a training curriculum I was part of developing – no sweat. Getting modules of the curriculum for editing late in the evening when they had to be in for printing for class by 8AM – no problem. Pulling out of the Husky station on Trethewey and the large steel plate the contractor for the City of Abbotsford put down take out my exhaust system – chill and patch it until I can bill the city to have the needed repairs done. Two hours in a dentist’s chair watching the instruments of destruction go into my mouth and emerge bloody as a wisdom tooth is broken up and removed – sigh. Dropping into a medical clinic to have my neck sliced open and drained because the wisdom tooth has caused an old infections site to flare up, a reoccurring problem that was the result of less than adequate medical treatment at new hospital emergency room – annoying.

I had reached a place of mental balance and wellness where all these were issues to be handled.

But opening and reading the letter from Housing and Social Development severed me from the normal flow of time and space; totally upsetting my mental balance.

So it is that I find myself facing the need to find a doctor to fill out the required medical report; to obtain and complete the SSC form (whatever that may be); to deal with the questions and issues arising from the summer/fall/winter mental health challenges; the need to attain disability and the extra money that represents before ending up homeless again …

A somewhat daunting set of tasks to achieve except …. shoot a politician and one gets immediate access to psychiatric treatment and help; you have case managers and other resources to deal with or help you deal with Housing and Social Development and applying for disability. Indeed shooting a politician opens doors and produces numerous benefits.

Is this not a situation replete with ironic justice and black humour?

Politicians have created Housing, Social Development and Mental Health systems where the quickest, most effective way to get the mental health help one needs …… is to shoot a politician.

Now if that is the system that works for the politicians … … I can work with that.

Municipal, Snafu

Underhanded?

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The truly damning thing is that Abbotsford city council does not even see what is wrong with their behaviour. Indeed, given their comments on having a supporting legal opinion council is busy congratulating themselves on their cleverness in having circumvented the provisions of the Community Charter in signing their ethically challenged pact with the Abbotsford Heat ownership.

Among the purposes of the Community Charter, the BC law setting out how municipalities are governed, is preventing municipal politicians from the type of financial misconduct Abbotsford council has entered into with the ownership of the Abbotsford Heat.

The Community Charter seeks to prevent local politicians from saddling/committing taxpayers with/to responsibility for large liabilities as Abbotsford’s council has done with its agreement with the Heat.

Taxpayers are on the hook for $200,000 to $300,000 for the first year of operations. While it is unlikely that taxpayers will be stuck paying the entire remaining $51,300.000.00 liability council has made taxpayers responsible for, with an agreement that spans ten years and is tied to the fortunes of a hockey team there is an unacceptable potential for the taxpayers of Abbotsford to be stuck with a $multi-million$ dollar bill.

The Charter also seeks to prevent sweetheart deals between municipal councils and businesses, groups or organizations within the community at the expense of other businesses, groups, organizations or the community as a whole.

If local amateur hockey teams, or other local groups, wanted to use the Entertainment and Sports Centre they would be paying hefty fees for the privilege. A privilege that the professional hockey Heat receive for free, while city taxpayers are out of pocket for the cost to operate the arena for the Heat. A cost responsible for a significant portion, if not all, of the $2,000,000 arena operating loss taxpayers are also digging deeper into their pockets to pay.

And although I doubt those who crafted the Community Charter ever thought of the particular transgression Abbotsford’s council is engaged in, buying a favoured ownership group a hockey team, I think it a safe bet that the Community Charter was written to prevent violation of the taxpayers in this manner.

Make no mistake; Abbotsford’s council has effectively bought the team for the Heat’s ownership group. Council has assumed a huge liability in guaranteeing the Heat $5,700,000 as a minimum yearly income; council has made citizens responsible for paying the multi-million dollar costs of operating the arena for the benefit of the Heat who get use of the arena for free; despite promises by council the city, in guaranteeing the Heat’s minimum revenue part of which is designated to cover the cost of travel for teams coming to Abbotsford to play the Heat, taxpayers are paying the travel expenses of professional hockey teams to and from Abbotsford.

As a result of the actions of city council the taxpayers of Abbotsford have assumed a large liability, are contributing millions of dollars to the Heat and their ownership by absorbing the operating costs of the arena while not charging rental and contribute further taxpayer dollars to the Heat’s ownership to top up revenue to $5.7 million yearly.

City council, on behalf of taxpayers, has assumed all the risk associated with the hockey team and is pouring millions of taxpayer dollars into the Heat.

If the Heat fail be profitable the taxpayers pay. If the Heat are successful the taxpayers still are paying but it is the Heat ownership group that reaps the financial rewards of owning a successful hockey team.

Given the actions of Abbotsford city council, the question of the legality of council’s attempt to use Global Spectrum to evade the Community Charter must be determined and any needed amends made to the Community Charter to close the loophole Abbotsford’s council slithered through.

Given the pride council evidences at having circumvented the purpose of the Community Charter it is clear that there is no hope council will resign. Instead it is probable council will simply continue to do as it wants to do while ignoring the consequences of its actions on the City of Abbotsford, the citizens of Abbotsford and Abbotsford’s future.

Leaving Abbotsford’s besieged citizens forced to wait, counting down the 19 long months until the next municipal election, to replace the current councilors with a council with councilors possessing common sense, financial responsibility, ethics, honour and integrity.

And Praying that the additional damage this council and these councilors do to the City’s finances, facilities, infrastructure and citizens is not so great as to be irreparable.