Editor:
The divided results, combined with the news reports emanating from the recent Sechelt referendum, are deeply troubling for anyone who cares about our community.
The core task of local government is to bring us together for mutual benefit. That we are now so divided that 50 per cent of voters do not trust their government sufficiently to approve a simple loan with a grant and lower interest rates should set off alarm bells for all of us.
That our local government -under the auspices of a "neutral" Chief Electoral Officer - does not trust some citizens to vote according to the rules is astounding. And unheard of.
The basic value of contemporary society is that we come together as individuals to form local, provincial or national governments to which we all relate in the same way -as equal, respected members and citizens. When any of us are treated differently -either negatively, as reported in Christine Wood's article (Coast Reporter, March 14) or otherwise, as insiders with special status -our government has betrayed our most basic community value.
All of those who yearned for a better Sechelt only two years ago (and regardless of how we voted, who did not want a better Sechelt as the result?) must be deeply dismayed at the division and lack of trust we witness.
Bruce Milne, Sechelt
