Editor:
It’s no secret around town that there’s a rift between Mayor Henderson and Sechelt councillors, who appear to vote contrary to him every opportunity they get. When this spills over and affects the lives and livelihoods of innocent people, there’s a serious problem and it affects all of us, it becomes personal.
My husband and I attended a council meeting June 4, where the mayor put forward a simple motion (nothing nefarious), advocating for change by the federal government, supporting the need for temporary foreign workers (TFWs). These are people we rely on to prop up our economy by serving our community, in many cases doing the jobs that most locals won’t, without whom many services and businesses would struggle to survive. From restaurants to health care, grocery stores and other front-line employees, they are invaluable.
As only four councillors showed up for the meeting (two via Zoom –– though one dropped out of the meeting before this matter came forward) and two were absent. To us in the audience, it appeared that they did not deem it important enough to attend and perhaps did not want to show their faces to the people whose family lives and livelihoods hung in the balance. Of the three councillors who were in attendance, only one supported the motion and so it failed. So they showed Mayor Henderson with nary a thought to the impact their decision had on the people who do show up, every day, contributing to the collective wellbeing and enjoyment of our community.
To Sechelt Council I say this, put your personal differences aside and get on with the job that we elected you to do. The success of Sechelt’s future is dependent on it.
Carolyn Minchin
Sechelt
