To the editor,
Re: New tent city ‘a good option,’ says mayor, May 22.
I will not be paying my water, sewer and garbage bill to the city of Nanaimo this month and I urge all other municipal taxpayers not to either. Mayor McKay stated in the Bulletin the city is giving free garbage pickup and free toilets to those who smashed the lock and now erect illegal structures on taxpayer property. No fine. No charge. Just free waterfront squatting for any coming to crash and do their illegal drugs. Craziness. We taxpayers deserve the break. Not those breaking the law.
Jan Ryan, Nanaimo
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To the editor,
Re: New tent city ‘a good option,’ says mayor, May 22.
As is usually the case, we have some activists and criminals trying to con us.
A founder and representative of tent city was quoted in this paper vowing there was not a spike in shoplifting at the mall. He was on Nanaimo’s most wanted list.
When I was shopping at Port Place, employees told me thefts have tripled since the encampment sprung up and the dollar store is being ripped off to the tune of $1,000 a day. How long can this keep going on before prices rise or stores are forced to close?
Then there are the camp demands: free water, garbage collection, toilets and dedicate this expensive piece of prime waterfront land for social housing. No. I bought my place, pay taxes and have to pay my own city utility bills.
Some in the camp say they are looked at as parasites downtown but walking through the core I see the needles and rotting food left behind. I still see the litter and stolen shopping carts.
If someone really truly needs help and wants it that is one thing. When they demand and deceive and steal that is a big no.
Criminals need to be put in jail; the mentally ill, in institutions where they can get the care they need. The public will no longer tolerate these con jobs.
G.A. Oliver, Nanaimo
The views and opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the writer and do not reflect the views of Black Press or the Nanaimo News Bulletin. If you have a different view, we encourage you to write to us or contribute to the discussion below.