We can appreciate the mayor is upset about this temporary injunction granted by a court around substance use in parks, but he ought to know he has no control over judicial decisions by the courts.
Complaining about it publicly is not going to solve the underlying issue of addiction, mental health and lack of affordable housing. Moreover, the same mayor actively encourages the consumption of alcohol in city parks with his recycled “pilot project” each year. It seems to me Mayor Popove has a double standard when it comes to intoxicants. Alcohol is more likely to result in violence, or risk to public safety (i.e drinking and driving) than any other drug, but he promotes its consumption in our parks. He never mentioned that in his various interviews.
The mayor also stands behind his city policy of renting citizen-owned meeting spaces to hate groups, like Action4Canada. This puts many of our citizens (Muslim, gay, trans, etc.) at unnecessary risk and leads to other citizens going down conspiracy-laden rabbit holes designed to divide us, rather than to build community.
In one very recent case, it led to a prominent local citizen fleeing from RCMP and flipping a tractor on the Trans Canada Hwy. It unnecessarily put our police and the public at risk, but Mayor Popove has not made any public statements about this violent act.
When it comes to public safety, it is high time that Mayor Popove focuses on what is within his control instead of publicly pontificating about matters outside his control. That is what we pay him for.
Peter Lang
READ MORE: Chilliwack mayor speaks against court decision on drugs in parks
To submit a letter to the editor, e-mail editor@theprogress.com.