Submitted by megan on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 10:32
I emailed Peter Van Loan - the Minister of Public Safety, by filling in the form on the Ministry web site. I'll be sending an only slightly edited version of the letter to CSC as well.
Really, I've handed it over to the people who have commented. I feel like at the meeting, those of us who were either neutral or in support of the site didn't get a voice.
I hope that someone in the minister's office reads the voices here.
Though my letter is quite specific to having blogged about the issue, please feel free to take what you want from my post or from my letter here and make it your own.
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Dear Minister Van Loan,
You have been quoted, on the radio and in news articles, as stating that the message from the public regarding the proposed parole office at 1010 Somerset St West was "loud and clear," and that the town hall meeting on March 30th gave a "pretty clear indication of how the public felt."
I do not believe this to be the case.
There were several of us at that meeting who are in support of having 1010 Somerset St West as the new location. We were in the minority, but our numbers are still significant, and we are certainly part of the public. The tenor of the meeting was such that most of us were uncomfortable speaking out against the prevailing view.
During and after the meeting, I was disappointed with the neighbours of mine who spoke using fear-mongering words and refused to hear what Correctional Service Canada, or the representative from the Citizens' Advisory Council, had to say.
I went home and wrote about it - I'm a blogger. Within 24 hours, that post had received hundreds of hits, and many people have commented in support of the 1010 location. Several others in the local blogosphere have linked to my post in support, urging their readers to read another viewpoint.
Please take the time to read these comments (http://meganbutcher.com/blog/Public_Consultation_Town_Hall#comments) and please listen to another slice of the public with opinions that differ from those that prevailed, very loudly, at Monday's town hall meeting.
Respectfully,
Megan Butcher
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Comments
2 comments postedGood on you!! I recall a conversation many years back on my front porch with a neighbour all in a tizzy about gals living a few doors up the street in a house belonging to the owner of a couple of strip clubs. "What," I said, "they gotta have somewhere to live while they're in town, and they sure can't afford to stay at the Chateau." I think I recall mentioning the appeal of cute babes going to and from work, which is a bit embarrassing in retrospect, but Jeez-Marie! How fearful are we of the edgy sides of downtown life? I've raised 3 kiddos in C-town (2 till 1998, another till 2003) and we told 'em to be wary of goof-balls and weirdos.
Bad things happen to little kids, but pretty much every time it's Daddy or Uncle Ernie. Give me a few ex-cons any ol' day ahead of a slimy creapo who live among us for years without detection. Get your heads outa the sand you ostriches! And don't go dumping on Paul Dewar or Diane Holmes for wanting to parse the discussion. Yeah, they're politicos and sometimes a bit self-serving but they want to make things work. You want Stephen Harper or Rainer Bloess to represent you?
Thanks MB,
SP
Thanks for the inspiration. I wrote to the Ministry.
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