This press release references events covered in more detail in this news article.
- Steven Hurdle -
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PRESS RELEASE
February 13, 2008
Langford
Langford has demonstrated a lack of respect towards its citizens and the democratic process.
On February 13, Langford officially began work on the Spencer Road Interchange by calling in a large police presence, reported to number over 50, along with Langford Bylaw Officers to forcibly remove the half a dozen tree-sitters and tear out trees at the end of Leigh Road.
This despite the fact that over 2250 Langford citizens (more than 10% of eligible voters) signed a petition asking for a public referendum to approve the $25 million borrowing for the project, that the financing for the interchange has not been secured, and that the bylaws creating the agreement to build the Interchange have not yet been adopted by Langford City Council.
“Langford has not received approval from the province’s Inspector of Municipalities to borrow the $25 million, and yet they talk and act like everything is all approved. It is not,” says Cheryl McLachlan, who took part in the canvassing. “Additionally, after adopting the Spencer Road Interchange bylaw in late January, Council in early February repealed it and introduced a new bylaw to replace it that they have not yet adopted. At this time, even Langford has not given final approval to the project.”
Steven Hurdle, who organized the petition, questions the timing of today’s events. Hurdle states: “The City has made no attempt to open a dialogue with the thousands of Langford residents who signed the petition, other than Deputy Mayor Denise Blackwell’s suggestion that those citizens might not have understood what they were doing. Langford Councillors brag about how many public meetings they’ve held about the project but, up until the poorly advertised December 27th, 2007 special meeting of the council, these were all about building the Spencer Road interchange and none were about borrowing $25 million dollars or the lack of a public approval process. I believe the signatories knew exactly what they were doing and they deserve to be respected for taking a stand; they signed not because they thought their taxes would immediately go up but because they are concerned and want a say in their community. Some of the signatories would vote in favour, but they want a chance to have their say in a referendum.” Read the rest of this entry »
