Editor:
Until this past year, walking my dog through the trails snaking in and around Gibsons has been rejuvenating for him and me.
Now, there’s a danger lurking in the debris associated with six to seven abandoned tent and tarp sites we found on or adjacent to these trails: used and new syringes, Naloxone kits, prescription drugs, various DIY weapons and lots of broken glass. Naloxone kits pack their own additional syringes and pills; some are new, some used. The same goes for the syringes I found.
I lament that we have distressed people living rough in our woods and parks and, indeed, this is likely a portent of things to come. It’s certainly true of many B.C. cities, towns and outlying areas.
I don’t have the answers to the social issues associated with homelessness but I think it’s totally inappropriate for the debris I mentioned to accumulate and remain onsite for long, to be discovered by people, including children and youth, and animals, including pets, raccoons and bears.
At least two of the sites were obviously ransacked by animals.
I brought these sites to the attention of town administrators last summer and in the fall. Excepting one, they were all abandoned at the time and, mainly, in plain view. Almost nothing was done about any of them and so I have undertaken to bag up the dangerous debris from these sites. In two cases I cleaned up the sites entirely. I don’t want someone else or some animal unwittingly discovering these items. My tally to date is 18 Naloxone kits and 40 to 45 syringes. The other debris at the sites is now landfill waste given the rains we endured last fall.
I urge the Town of Gibsons to do more in the future, when they are first notified of these sites, to help ensure that items that pose a risk to public and animal health are promptly removed and disposed.
Michael Maser, Elphinstone
