This is one of the best letters to the editor I have seen in the TC recently.
Problem after problem with no idea what to do
We turned health care over to the accountants because it was about money, not doctors. Now, one million B.C. residents don’t have a family doctor.
We closed mental institutions because it was about community support, not mental illness. Now, 29,000 are homeless in B.C.
We defunded the police because it was about compassion, not law enforcement. Now, Victoria is rated by Statistics Canada in 2020 as having the highest crime severity in the province, fourth overall in Canada.
We released repeat offenders because it was about addiction, not crime. Now, the mayors of Abbotsford, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, New Westminster, Prince George, Richmond, Saanich, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria have written to the attorney general about doing something about catch-and-release policing.
We are decriminalizing small amounts of fentanyl because it is about health issues, not dirty drugs. After 8,800 deaths since 2016 due to overdoses in B.C., how does one imagine this approach will work?
Trying to solve a problem by creating another, possibly even larger problem is not a solution. If you don’t know what to do, say so. If you don’t know where to go, stand aside and let someone else try.
Gerald Backeland
Sidney
https://www.timescol...hinking-5459653