TALE OF TWO COUNCILS, WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY

Editor, The News:

Re: Appeals court strikes down safety inspection bylaw (The News, May 21).

If Dickens was alive and in this area I think his sequel to Tale of
two Cities would be titled "Tale of two Mayors."

I'll equally go for "Tale of two Councils."

For years while the Northumberland issue dragged on in Maple Ridge,
and the safety of the community was consistently at risk, what we
heard from elected officials and senior staff was how they couldn't
act because of the rights of the landlord and those who were
committing offences and harming the community.

Now in the face of the pot dispensary opening, once again the people
in the community most affected by this opening are once again shoved
to the sideline with no consideration of their needs or safety issues.

What a refreshing quote from the mayor of Pitt Meadows when he said
quite clearly regarding the public safety inspection program: "It's a
safety program. When it comes to family and well-being, I think that
that is No. 1 and should really take precedence over whether the
courts feel criminals should have more rights."

Now those who want to jump all over the medicinal uses of marijuana,
go ahead. This issue of the dispensary has quickly turned from one
about the moral and legal issues around marijuana use and distribution
to the issue of Maple Ridge elected officials and senior staff
standing up for, and putting the needs of the actual residents of the
neighbourhood first.

It is interesting to note, and has been pointed out in other articles
that the owner of the house that the dispensary is working out of
lives in Pitt Meadows, as does the president of the society that runs
the dispensary.

So with the mayor of Pitt Meadows coming out with such a statement, is
it any wonder that this dispensary has ended up here in Maple Ridge?

Really, there may be, and probably is a real need for this dispensary,
and good on those who are willing to fight for what they believe in.

But an equal amount of shame should be put on these same individuals
for dragging our community, without any community consultation, into a
battle it did not ask to be a part of.

An equal amount of shame goes to the current council and senior staff
of Maple Ridge. Why is it that Pitt Meadows makes a clear statement
that it will fight for the safety and security of its residents, yet
in Maple Ridge we're left waiting for a group of ducks to form into a
line before the District of Maple Ridge will begin to act.

Tyler Ducharme

Maple Ridge