Our community is about to go into week four of a boil water advisory, for some creating difficulty, hardship and financial expense. Coincidentally at the same time, new changes in the tax structure have removed certain perks from elected civic individuals.
We, the good citizens of the community who pay our utility bills, expect to receive good, clean water to drink while some in council think a raise to compensate for losing a “perk” should be considered a more pressing issue. Whoa there…If anyone elected took the position to bolster a pension, or to add a supplemental income or to simply have an income then perhaps they chose unwisely.
People who want to serve a community should want to make the community better, to make a difference in day-to-day living and its long-term survival. We did not elevate you to a celebrity status, perhaps you think we are the fools. A perfectly good thing to remember is that we are all neighbours, you live where we live, you shop where we shop and quite simply you are one of us.
READ MORE: How neighbouring North Coast villages avoided the boil water notice
So drop the idea of “we need a raise, and we must set up a panel idea and attitude” and do what we believed you took the position to do. Look into a mirror and ask yourself “could I do more”, “can I make a difference” and if the answer is “yes” then just do it. If the answer is “no” then maybe the correct and moral thing to do is to step aside and let someone else try.
We are a city in disrepair at present, we have a defunct water system, a population that has declined over the past decade, declining and limited services and businesses and more potholes than one can count. And you want a raise?
Adding up increased hydro costs, the cost for bottled water and the hardship and workload the water fiasco has caused, Mayor and Council could have brought in truckloads of bottled water from Walmart and distributed it. They chose not to do that and simply passed those costs onto us and for some took the “want a raise to compensate for a loss of a perk” attitude. We have lost clean drinkable water, we have listened to “we are doing all we can” far too often. Clean water means life, I would imagine council chambers does not rely upon pots of boiled water to drink.
I really would like to believe in council but like so many others I just cannot at this time. I say NO to entertaining any raise and say yes to bringing in water and distributing the water to those struggling with young families or illness. Hardship is not needed, help is! Do the right thing, be a hero and try and remember this is Prince Rupert, our home, not Flint Michigan!
I mean no malice or harm but this is where we all live and we are in this together and we are all equal.
Glenn Boychuk
Prince Rupert, B.C.