DRUGS, TREATMENT AND THORNHILL FOCUS OF MLA'S TOWN HALL
MEETING

The problem got so bad in one neighbourhood, said one woman at the
town hall meeting Thursday, residents had to resort to their own
measures to drum out the marijuana growers.

Kids and seniors wrote down licence plates and took photos of
suspicious vehicles.

Grow-ops and crime were just one of the topics of MLA Randy Hawes'
town hall meeting that covered everything from the health hazards of
Zonolite to the health hazards of non-functioning septic fields.

In the dimly lit lounge above the Golden Ears Winter Club, about 50
people tossed questions at the representatives of three levels of
government.

"It's a big problem," Maple Ridge Mayor Gordy Robson said of the drug
issue. "We're on it as hard as we can be. We probably have more than
500 [grow-ops] of them in town."

While the district's new bylaw requires regular inspection of rental
premises and allows it to recover all police and fire department
costs from dismantling drug houses, there's little support from the
courts in sentencing, said Robson.

For Hawes, legalizing marijuana in Canada would be a disaster. That
would result in clampdowns at the border. Marijuana, he said, "is not
harmless," and is a gateway to other drugs.

But locking up drug addicts isn't the answer, Robson added
later.

"No one level of government can address this effectively," said MP
Randy Kamp. The new federal government has tougher penalties for drug
trafficking and firearms offences as one of its first five
priorities, he pointed out.

Graham Mowatt, though, noted people are becoming addicted to crystal
meth, yet the provincial government is downsizing Riverview Hospital
and wouldn't allow Robson to open a residential drug treatment centre
for youths.

"It makes no sense," Mowatt said.

Hawes, however, said he's lobbying Fraser Health to change its
funding model aE" to allocate more dollars to private drug-treatment
facilities and to arrange funding so it follows the addict, rather
than simply a set number of beds.

Water, and lack thereof, for residents of Thornhill also came up at
the meeting.

Jacques Richard, formerly with the Thornhill Residents Coalition,
wanted to know if the district will bring in water services to the
area. A petition with 147 names is making that request.

But Robson said some residents want services on Thornhill and some
don't.

Bringing in services could change the area, he said and if the new
official community plan says Thornhill should remain as is, they
should find a way of supplying water without fostering
development.

Peter Barnes, however, wanted the water issue more carefully
examined. He asked the trio if they'd participate in a forum on the
Thornhill acquifer.

Following the March 20 collision involving a motor vehicle and a
horse on 132nd Avenue, a voter asked about horseback safety. But
Robson said the key is getting horses off the road and on to their
own trails. A solution in the 132nd Avenue area soon may be found,
he said.

"We've got to get the horses off the street."

Robson said as the region grows, more people will be moving to Maple
Ridge. But he said he wants a compact community, which is financially
viable.

But he pointed out the district has to continue to broaden its tax
base so more tax revenue comes from industrial/commercial rather than
residential.

Currently, more than 90 per cent of the district's tax revenue come
from homeowners.

He also renewed his call for amalgamation of Maple Ridge and Pitt
Meadows, noting many services already are shared.