Editor:
Corbyn Sunderland has it right (Camp Cloud an eyesore for Burnaby residents, NOW Letters, July 15); the squatter camps are not only an eyesore but also a major fire hazard. What started as a protest against a specific issue is becoming another excuse for a shantytown.
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan is shirking his responsibilities by encouraging the erection of illegal structures, making statements that undermine the RCMP, and taking the ridiculous (and unconstitutional) position that the city has the legal power to stop the pipeline expansion. These are the actions of a politician who has lost touch with reality after being in power for too long, and it smacks of hubris.
Maybe his policy is useful to distract from the recent anger over demovictions?
Although Mike Hurley (who is running against Corrigan in the next election) is not in favour of the pipeline expansion, he takes the pragmatic stance that it is not within the jurisdiction of municipal government to thwart this once approved by the feds. It makes sense to me, and he has my vote from that viewpoint alone. It is my hope that Mr. Hurley will make a public statement about the squatter camps and what will happen to them when he is elected mayor on Oct. 20. It’s really time for change at city hall.
Kristoffer Palma, Burnaby
