Your editorial re: “Ballot question will be meaningless” completely misses the point of the exercise. Council did indeed send a letter to Minister Kent and P.M. Harper in January 2012. Clearly those levels of government were not listening or do not care. Therefore it is completely logical and appropriate to restate the position in stronger terms. In order to do that the council wants to poll the citizens, on whose behalf they will be speaking, as to their wishes. That is called democracy. Obviously there is a price for that; just as there is a price for everything, including paying their wages, heating the building etc. etc.
It is interesting that the Mayors of Burnaby and Victoria are speaking out on this issue on behalf of their electorate. In fact the City of Victoria has been granted ‘intervener’ status. The CBC reported that Victoria will be having a public meeting on that very question (On the Island, 29 September 2014). I imagine there might be some costs entailed in that meeting; however those cities are more concerned with the process of democracy than on the minimal costs that were suggested.
The editor should be proud of Sooke council’s bold stand and not lose sight of what is really at stake in this issue. That indeed would be ‘common sense’.
Marilyn Sundeen
Sooke