From Facebook – David Sahlstrom.
The current council of Abbotsford has set a course to spend money like a drunken sailor on court battles with the homeless and the Drug War Survivors.
They have gone to court to get an injunction to support the homeless eviction from Jubilee Park. When the DWS filed a writ for wrongful eviction, the City filed a motion to deny the DWS the right to represent the homeless. When the Justice ruled against the motion, the City filed an appeal.
They have also filed a writ against Barry Shantz (DWS leader). By my calculation the costs are probably between $100k and $200k and the case hasn’t reached court. The DWS says they have 12 additional cases ready to be filed.
The current council has either directed the City or supported the decision. They are committed to spending outrageous sums of money on court action that will not solve the problem. Although I am no lawyer, reviewing the documents available (provided by that “NASTY LITTLE WEBSITE”), I think that the City will lose and it will cost us – cost us way more than addressing the problem. And even if we win, it will cost us a million dollars and we will not have solved the problem.
The DWS has said they don’t want to battle it out in court but want to find a resolution. So ask the incumbents you want to vote for if they would support an end to the legal battle and enter into a reconciliation process with the DWS. They can answer that question even though there is court action pending.
If they don’t, I think it’s clear that they will continue it. I know that at least one current councilor doesn’t support the court action and would support a non-court resolution of the problem.
If you want to spend a million or millions of dollars on nothing, re-elect the current council. Or you can elect a council that wants to solve the problem – not waste time and money. I say let’s find a resolution.