Dear editor,
Recently I watched the documentary Right To Remain on CBC, the story of Vancouver’s Eastside residents who are being forced out of their homes and businesses so that gentrification can take over the area. It was devastating. But here in Courtenay we have the opposite problem... most of the Valley homeless don’t have any kind of accommodation to leave, and that’s equally devastating!
I know firsthand that I and many friends and family voted for specific Courtenay council candidates because of their pre-election promises that our critical homeless situation was at the top of their priorities. I would like those candidates (you know who you are, and if you’ve forgotten go back to your election handouts) to come forward and explain to all those who voted for you WHY these ‘intentions’ slipped to the bottom of your ‘to do’ lists once you got into power... or is it the word ‘power’ that could answer my question?
Another aspect of the lack of importance being placed on the homeless situation that is incredibly upsetting is that when meetings do take place, they are held in-camera. Seriously? Secret meetings about a campground that offers the only possible housing solution for many already living on the bottom rung of society’s ladder. Even as I type this I feel disgusted and saddened. We voted you in because we believed in your words of hope and integrity. Now what?
Diane Baxter
Courtenay