It is encouraging to see students taking an interest in municipal affairs and making time to share their thoughts with the community.
Unfortunately, Mr. Trelford’s letter is rife with unfounded assumptions and fact-free rhetoric that cannot go unchallenged.
I agree that vibrancy and freshness is important in the community but how do unspecified projects and developments achieve this? In North Saanich, “fresh and vibrant” is more likely to include a rural ambience, farm market shopping opportunities and quieter streets.
Indeed, Councillors were elected to represent the residents, presumably all of them. Sadly, on many occasions, some councillors have stated that they only represent those who voted for them.
Mr. Trelford incorrectly implies that our community is deficient in students, employees and people. In my subdivision, widely assumed to be retiree central, my neighbours include an abundance of young, working families. In fact, the 2011 Census shows that youths aged from 10 to 19 years are proportionally more abundant in North Saanich than in the CRD as a whole.
I applaud Mr. Trelford’s initiative in giving us his opinions, but those opinions have to rest on facts or they must be simply dismissed as election-style rhetoric. “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
Springfield Harrison
North Saanich