To the Editor,
The hue and cry from municipal governments for the closure of the Occupy encampments grows louder every day.
They argue that the tent sites are ugly and dangerous, that the protesters have no unified message and are not accomplishing anything positive.
They are completely missing the point. Of course the campers have not reduced the great discrepancy between the ultra wealthy – who got rich off manipulating the investment market and the sweat of workers – and the average taxpayer.
What the protesters are doing is bearing witness of great injustice.
Second, a number of homeless are being sheltered and cared for in these encampments, saving them from living under bushes and in your doorways.
Those who claim that Canada doesn’t have American poverty problems must be ignorant of the fact that Nanaimo has the highest level of child poverty in B.C., which in turn has the worst level in Canada.
This in a province governed by the motto ‘Families First’.
Those who question these facts are invited to volunteer to join me at their choice of the food bank, the Great Nanaimo Toy Drive and the Christmas Hamper Drive.
It is an educational experience, bar none.
Dave Cutts, Nanaimo